The Role of Digital Technology in Preservation of Subak and Balinese Tradition

Selat Village, Karangasem, 2 September 2022. Surrounded by the lush green paddy field and the astounding Selat Village at the foot of Mount Agung, there was an event to exchange ideas about conservation efforts of Subak, a UNESCO World Heritage in 2012. This event is part of Bali International Field School for Subak (BIFSS), a Subak Field School organized by the Indonesian Heritage Trust (BPPI) with local partner, Bali Kuna Santi Foundation since 2015. The final event was held on 2 September 2022, attended by delegates from 5th World Planning School Congress and the 16th Asian Planning School Congress hailing from many countries, and also by the Vice Governor of Bali and the Vice Regent of Karangasem.   

“This year’s BIFSS is the eighth one since 2015. The main stage of BIFSS is around Subak Selat as the site of our field observation, with Jero Tumbuk as our center of activities,” explained Dr. Catrini Kubontubuh, BPPI Board of Directors who is also in charge of BIFSS. This year’s theme is the The Role of Digital Technologies in the Preservation of Subak and Balinese Cultural Heritage. “We hope that the young generation can answer the challenges faced by Subak with solutions brought by today’s digital technology,” she added.

This year’s BIFSS is supported by Indonesian Institute of Business and Technology (INSTIKI) from Denpasar. There are 17 participants from Austria and various regions in Indonesia, including Pekanbaru, Padang, Balikpapan, Kupang, Semarang, Yogyakarta, Nias, and regencies across Bali. “Through the consistency of BIFSS every year, we all hope that awareness about Subak can spread beyond Bali, to everyone especially the young generation,” spoke Prof. Wayan Windia, a Subak expert from Udayana University, who was also a lecturer at BIFSS. “Subak is in danger of extinction if it keeps getting marginalized and never getting prioritized in development,” he concluded.

Divided into three groups: Parahyangan, Palemahan, and Pawongan from the concept of Tri Hita Karana, BIFSS participants were given learning materials about the history of Subak and digital technology platform to accommodate data gathered at Subak Selat, comprising of Selat Traditional Village and Santi Traditional Village at Selat Village, Selat District, Karangasem Regency, Bali Province. “This event is the embryo of Subak Encyclopedia that will one day accommodate various digital data on Subak,” said I Gusti Lanang Muliarta from Bali Kuna Santi Foundation who made sure that the follow up of this field school will be jointly developed by Subak Selat organization, the village residents, local government, and higher institutions like INSTIKI.

Let us conserve Subak!

Further Information:

Dr. Catrini Kubontubuh (BPPI Board of Directors) – 081381303696

I Gusti Lanang Muliarta (Bali Kuna Santi Foundation)-081807882200