Catching Dragonflies
There was one season I always waited for as a child. Not a holiday, not a festival.
·5 min read
Field Notes
From the
Food Forest
Guides to foraging in Bali, plant identification, traditional uses, and recipes using wild ingredients from the jungle.
More Notes
The River We Left Behind
Water, for the Balinese, is never just water. It is life. It is purification. It is balance.
·6 min read
The Medicine I Searched For
When I finished junior high school, I was faced with a reality I wasn't ready for — I couldn't continue my education.
·6 min read
Warm Hands
My mother is a simple woman — so pure and full of love. One thing I always noticed she truly loved was money.
·4 min read
Melasti - When the Universe Looks Into Itself
Last week I came to the beach and saw something that made me stop and sit with my thoughts for a long time.
·5 min read
Silent Day (Nyepi)
Nyepi - also known as the Day of Silence - is the Saka New Year celebration that Balinese Hindus observe every year.
·3 min read
Ngaben - Fear of Death
Fear of death — that is what I fear, and perhaps many people feel the same way. The fear of losing family and the people we love most is also something I am still learning to carry.
·3 min read
My Father's Coconut Tree
I spent much of my childhood with my father in the rice fields. And of all those memories, one moment still lives in me with extraordinary clarity — the day we harvested long beans together.
·3 min read
The Dusty Hands
There was a time when the loudest sound in the afternoon was the laughter of children.
·6 min read
For Whom Is the Offering?
One day a guest asked me with genuine curiosity — "why do you continue traditions that cost so much money?
·7 min read
Foraging Near Ubud: A Food Forest Day in Tabanan
Ubud is often where the question starts.
·8 min read
Young Jackfruit / Nangka Muda in Bali
Nangka muda in Bali: a source-backed guide to young jackfruit, Artocarpus heterophyllus, vegetable use, latex, cooking, and safety.
·3 min read
Winged Bean / Kecipir in Bali
Kecipir in Bali: a source-backed guide to winged bean, Psophocarpus tetragonolobus, edible pods, local preparation, and safety.
·3 min read
What Happens During a Forage Bali Private Food Forest Day?
A step-by-step look at the private Forage Bali experience, from arrival and plant walk to cooking and shared lunch.
·2 min read
What Can You Forage in Bali? Guided Plant Notes
A source-backed guide to eight Bali edible plants, including kelor, paku, rebung, talas, kecombrang, kunyit, kecipir, and nangka muda.
·3 min read
Unique Things to Do Near Ubud Beyond Temples and Beaches
For travelers looking for a deeper Bali day, here are meaningful nature, food, and culture experiences near Ubud.
·2 min read
Turmeric / Kunyit in Bali
Kunyit in Bali: a source-backed guide to turmeric, Curcuma longa, edible rhizomes, Balinese spice pastes, and safe plant identification.
·3 min read
Torch Ginger / Kecombrang in Bali
Kecombrang in Bali: a source-backed guide to torch ginger, Etlingera elatior, kecicang flowers, bongkot stems, and food forest cooking.
·3 min read
Taro / Talas in Bali
Talas in Bali: a source-backed guide to taro, Colocasia esculenta, edible corms, oxalate irritation, cooking, and safe identification.
·3 min read
Rebung / Bamboo Shoots in Bali
Rebung in Bali: a source-backed guide to bamboo shoots, edible species ranges, cyanogenic compounds, boiling, and guided preparation.
·3 min read
What Is a Private Food Forest Experience in Bali?
A practical guide to Forage Bali's private food forest day: who it is for, what happens, where it takes place, and how to plan one.
·2 min read
Paku / Fiddlehead Fern in Bali
Paku and pakis in Bali: a careful guide to edible fern shoots, Diplazium esculentum as a reference species, cooking, and safety.
·3 min read
Moringa / Kelor in Bali
Kelor in Bali: a source-backed guide to moringa leaves, Moringa oleifera, food forest cooking, and safe guided harvesting.
·3 min read
Balinese Edible Plants and Traditional Cooking
A short introduction to the edible leaves, flowers, shoots, rhizomes, corms, herbs, and seasonal ingredients in Balinese food forest cooking.
·2 min read
Bali Retreat Activities That Connect Guests to Local Culture
Retreat groups need more than another excursion. A food forest day gives guests a shared, grounded experience with land, cooking, and local knowledge.
·2 min read
One Perfect Day
Hi, I'm Ayu (Yuka), a simple farmer's daughter who grew up in a small village called Sidemen. A village surrounded by beautiful hills and rice fields - I spent almost all of my childhood out in those fields.
·3 min read
The Wealthy Morning
The mornings of my childhood were simple — far from luxury. But that simplicity is what I miss the most, and it is something I still return to every time I visit my parents in Sidemen.
·4 min read
The Source of Life
There's something remarkable about rice in Bali. Every stalk that grows here isn't seen simply as a commodity or just food.
·2 min read
My Tarzan
Today I want to tell you how incredible my father is - a farmer and a true Tarzan.
·3 min read
Candle of Life
"From Struggle to Strength"
·5 min read
Ngulah Kedis (Chasing the Rice Birds)
This memory stays with me clearly. During rice season, especially when the rice starts to bear fruit, I would begin to worry - because my job was coming.
·2 min read
Matekap (Plowing the Rice Fields)
In Bali, the planting season begins with a process called matekap or mlasah - loosening and leveling the earth. It happens in stages: NAMPADIN (clearing the weeds), NGELAMPIT (plowing, turning the soil), MLASAH (leveling the ground).
·3 min read
Woman as a Hand of Culture
You'll find them everywhere in Bali. At the beautiful temples, outside people's homes, at the foot of statues, wrapped around the great trees, tucked into every corner of the island.
·6 min read