Guardians of Mother Nature

If there's one thing I would like to highlight for sustainability, I would highlight the passionate local heroes we met during the site visits. They are namely the Coral Hero, Leader of the Pejeng Village and Founder of Mai Organic (Pak Kadek) as well as the strong willed founder of Made Tea (Ibu Made). 

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While they advocated for various segments of the eco-sustainability landscape, a commonality they have is the strong passion towards the protection of nature through various methods such as permaculture, composting and coral protection via electrification. 

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Made Tea - Ibu Made, The Girl Boss

My favourite out of them (no intentions of biasness!) would be Made Tea. Ibu Made is an iron woman who is the face of womens' empowerment. As someone who is incredibly passionate about Diversity and Inclusion, I resonate with her values towards creating an inclusive space for women within and outside her Banjar.

Made Tea employs women across 8 villages where each village grows and represents one item. For instance, if Village A grows and contributes Mint, Village B grows and contributes another type of item such as Gotocola. One profitable herb is the Marigold flower where it is sold for ceremonies common within the area. As such, Made Tea gets better value of Marigold when it is sold more in bulk quantities. 

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Made Tea has 200+ ladies working on it. Ibu Made transferred her knowledge to the ladies and housewives, convincing them to work for the plantation business. The housewives are busy with their lives and do not have the confidence to work, despite their passion towards tea. However, Ibu Made's strong willpower and unwavering determination convinced them out of their mindsets, having them work and obtain a sustainable lifestyle especially during the Covid-19 pandemic where job insecurity and financial difficulties become a widespread issue. 

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Her willingness to share her extensive knowledge towards an effort to educate everyone regardless of backgrounds inspires me to do the same. Knowledge is power and deserves to be shared!