JED Bali: Local eco-tourism

First time visitors to Bali, often complain that the tourist industry had bypassed the poor old Balinese, and they are being left with nothing. Expats often complain, that the Balinese are money hungry, and have themselves to blame for their situation. Whatever your feeling, one thing is for sure, tourism could be handled a lot better in Bali. One group that is attempting to change things in a small way, is JED. I met Gin Simpson from JED last year, and talked about how her eco-tourism group is progressing.

JED (Jaringan Ekowisata Desa) Village Eco tourism Network, is a collection of 4 Balinese villages, Tenganan in East Bali, Kiadan Pelaga, in Bali’s central highlands, Nusa Ceningan Island, and Sibetan on the slopes of Gunung Agung. The eco-tourism idea, is that a limited amount of tourists can visit the villages, shown around by locals, the proceeds being fairly distributed in an agreed manner.

Gin recently did an interview with News.com.au about how JED is progressing.