Bali’s New Wave of Community-minded Thinkers

These are tough times for small businesses in Bali. Here’s how some of our friends around the island are creating brightness in the midst of uncertainty.

Above image: Boxed Bali, photography by Jade Nina Sarkhel

A strong sense of community has always been a defining characteristic of Bali – from the way its villages are structured right down to its flourishing creative scene. But right now, in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, a new wave of community-minded thinkers is emerging. Local businesses and passionate individuals alike are coming up with creative initiatives to support people in need and generate positivity. They are collaborating, creating and coming up with out-of-the-box ways to get through this disaster as a collective.

Food-focussed businesses such as Temuku Pupuan, Neighbourhood, Little Spoon farm and Boxed Bali are making it easy to stay at home while simultaneously supporting small and non-conventional farmers. The good folk at Room 4 Dessert in Ubud and The Lawn, Canggu as well as a number of other local cafes and eateries are operating on a slightly different end of the spectrum, offering free take-away for those in need, as well as delivering free home-cooked meals to hospitality staff who’ve lost their jobs.

Young creatives have been quick to re-appropriate their skills in ingenious ways and there’s no denying that people in Bali are as eager as ever to come up with new ways to help one another.

Our Sustainism Lab team at Desa Potato Head have been producing masks for the community and medical workers using leftover fabric from our merchandise range. They’ve also been turning our billboard waste into medical aprons. We’re aligning with a few of these initiatives to donate our masks as part of their community care packs. (read more here).

Here’s a list of some of our favourite initiatives on the island. We’ll update it regularly to keep you in the loop.

FOOD

TEMUKU PUPUAN One of the OGs of Bali’s organic fruit and vegetable movement, Temuku grows and delivers fresh produce grown in the pristine hills of West Bali. They also make sourdough, kefir and immunity-boosting black garlic.

LITTLE SPOON FARM The Little Spoon family works together with local farmers to create farm box subscriptions and other health-focussed products.

BOXED BALI Boxed is a collaboration between Baked Bali and Kinship. They’re putting together boxes of fresh produce, kitchen staples and other locally crafted goods to help support local suppliers.

COSMIC Exotic sauces and pickles. Dom Hammond & Anya Montague have launched a range of medicinal hot sauces and pickles that are guaranteed to bring some fire to your lock-down diet. DM them to have them delivered to your doorstep.

PELOTON SUPERSHOP Plant-based Peloton Supershop has a limited range of their delicious menu available for take away, they also offer frozen goods, condiments, nuts and seeds and sauces. Your order will directly support countless local families.

PLANT CARTEL Better for you and better for the planet, the tasty vegan burgers and bites from local favorite Plant Cartel are available for delivery.

KYND All plant based things naughty and nice, Kynd have re-opened their doors for ‘distance’ dining and are also available for take away from 8am – 8pm. Make sure to check out their latest plant-based pizza concept Peacezza.

ROOM 4 DESSERT Will Goldfarb and the Room4Dessert team have put together a blockbuster takeaway menu and are distributing nutritious house-cooked meals for out-of-work restaurant workers and anyone else in the community that needs it.

Drop them a line on +62 813 3705 0539 to get involved.

NEIGHBOURHOOD This Berawa eatery has transformed into a food pantry and grocer which offers fresh produce, whole foods and nutritious pre-cooked meals that you can throw together at home. They even have a bottled Negroni.

KONSCIOUS GOODS The Konscious crew specialises in cold-pressed juices, kombucha and healthy snacks such as hummus, almonds and gluten-free crackers. They deliver and you can order online.

PNNY COLLECTIVE The PNNY gang are lifting spirits across the island with their deliciously decadent house-baked cinnamon rolls. They can be ordered through the PNNY Collective Instagram account. We also hear they’re creating an online platform that is set to host daily workshops, talks and performances. Stay tuned.

THE LAWN The Lawn is giving free nasi bungkus to unemployed hospitality workers every Friday from 12pm to 2pm.

PROJECT NASI Project Nasi is about supplying the bare essentials to Balinese in desperate need of supplies, in order to help communities survive the impact of the current situation.

SUSTAIN MOTHER EARTH

THANK ME LATER Our favourite sustainable sunscreen producer has created a limited batch of anti-bacterial and anti-microbial hand sanitizers, powered by 70% ethyl alcohol and pure lemon essential oil.

SAVON STELLA Designer Jil Wong has created bamboo-charcoal and collagen soaps that are gentle enough to use on face and body. A percentage of every purchase are going to Foodbank.co. Orders can be placed by sending a direct message via the SAVON STELLA Instagram account.

PNNY X INDOSOLE X R4D PNNY and Indosole have joined forces to help keep the community well-fed. They’ve designed a special edition t-shirt which will be sold to support Room4Dessert’s food donation program. Read more here.