Tour 2: Banjar Jati Taro, Tegalalang

Welcome to an ordinary Balinese village !
A short drive off the beaten track from the bustling tourist centre of Ubud lies the village (Banjar) of Jati Taro. It is a poor village that has had almost no benefit from Bali's tourist trade. Its residents work their rice fields, grow vegetables and spices, sell cheap goods to each other and other villages and practice the traditional ceremonies of Balinese Hinduism in their local temples.

You will be taken into its heart and meet with local families who will talk to you about their lives in the rice fields and kitchens of Jati Taro, about the difficulty of finding the money for their religion's ceremonies and sending their kids to school and about the pleasures of living in one of the most beautiful environments in the world.

However, like most Balinese villages, Jati Taro hides a secret. In this case, it is the family and artworks of one of Bali's most revered masters of art, I Njoman Tjokot. One of his sons, I Wayan Sawat, still lives in the village and makes artworks in the style of his father's. I Wayan Sawat's works, like his father's, are in private and institutional collections throughout the world. He is very old yet is still pleased to meet visitors interested in his life and works.

The tour includes a visit to Puri Lukisan, the first fine art museum in Ubud. Founded by Ubud's royal family, it contains a representative collection of the history of Balinese modern art and one work by I Njoman Tjokot.

Prices

Our prices include pick up/drop off from your hotel anywhere in Bali, your guide's travel time and expenses, donations to the village and families visited, food and drink and administration costs. Administration costs include staff time taking books and arranging tours and promotion costs. Any surplus is used for Interkultur Foundation's other projects. If you would like to know more about Interkultur Foundation, please email us or ask your guide. We can also provide advice about ways of helping the people you visit should you wish to do so.