Meet Dr. Ating; resident physician at Green School on the island of Bali. When he’s not patching up skinned knees this mild mannered superhero is saving the world one species at a time through the Dr. Ating Foundation.

Okay, so when I interviewed him he wasn’t wearing a cape or tights, just glasses and a great big smile. But, he is on a mission to save the native species that call Lore Lindu National Park in Sulawesi, Indonesia home. If someone doesn’t step and find a way to save these species there will be irreversible damage to our planet. Listen up, heed the warning and help out!

How did the Dr. Ating foundation come to be?
~It start with a dream and the generous help of a Swedish family spending a year in Bali.
I told them stories of the 10 years I spent living and working in the jungles of Papua. I was inspired by the work of the Rainforest Action Network and how one day I hoped to create a conservation program in Sulawesi that would benefit not only the plants and wildlife but the villagers living around the Lore Lindu National Park. The Gelin family saw the potential for our planet in this vision and helped me establish the foundation. We are currently looking for funding.

What are the goals of the Dr. Ating Foundation?
~The first goal is to create trust with the local people of Lore Lindu by establishing the first ever Health Care-for-Nature swap. No one can protect the habitat of wildlife better than the native peoples living in the forests.
Unfortunately, they are very poor; their livelihood depends on the extraction of forest products, including endangered wildlife. For the forest dwellers traditional conservation programs are suspect, they fear that conservation will cut off their access to the current sources of their livelihood. By addressing both health care and financial benefits of local people the wildlife in the forest will receive increased protection by local residents who see long term advantages to helping preserve the Park.
We hope to pilot a successful model of local community engagement that could be replicated in other protected areas around Indonesia and the world.

What are the biggest obstacles the foundation will face with Lore Lindu people?
~The anticipated major obstacle will be too many people coming for the health service when the financial and personnel resources are still limited; the other issue will be helping the people understand that they have an obligation to “swap” the health services we offer with preserving the rainforests and stop poaching wildlife.

Why Sulawesi?
~Sulawesi has evolved a strange mix of plants and animals displaying staggering levels of endemism (found no where else on Earth…(don’t feel bad I didn’t know what it meant either!)) Some of the largest unbroken tracts of forest on all of Sulawesi are found in the Lore Lindu National Park, which provides a vital biodiversity corridor linking all of the remaining forest areas on the island. The Park is recognized as an international center of plant diversity and endemic bird area. Nearly 40% of the 400 species of birds living in the park are only found here. Lure Lindu was declared a biosphere reserve by the UNESCO in 1977.

* check out these cute little Pygmy Tarsiers found no where else in the world! They were thought to be extinct since the 1920′s but, 3 of these tiny fuzz balls we’re found to be alive and well kicking it in Lore Lindu in 2008. Nearly 60 villages in the 2000 Sq km park are encroaching on the pint size primates mountain habitat, leaving their future uncertain.

Your focus is people, plants, wildlife. How are the three related?
~Human activities are the main cause of modern day extinction of plants and wildlife. It’s poverty of the majority and human greed of the minority that are destroying our rainforests and wildlife. The indigenous people often turn to illegal activities such as poaching and logging in the Parks for fast cash.I have no political power to control the greed, so instead I focus on addressing poverty by providing quality and affordable health care. If we help them reduce their economic burden of health costs, the pressure on the forests will be less. Once mutual trust is established we can start a conversation about conservation and over time develop sustainable forest activities such as eco-tourism. I do believe it has great potential to succeed.

We hear a lot of talk about deforestation but how does it really effect the rest of us?
~While only occupying one tenth of the world’s land mass tropical rainforests are home to half of the worlds species of plants and animals. These areas are teeming with potential life saving medicines.
Some 120 prescription drugs are derived directly from rainforest plants and according to the U.S. National Cancer Institute, more than two-thirds of all medicines found to have cancer-fighting properties have been found in the flora and fauna of the earths threatened rain-forests.   A now-extinct periwinkle plant found only in Madagascar (until deforestation wiped it out) increased the chances of survival for children with leukemia from 20 percent to 80 percent and Sulewasi is 2nd only to Madagascar in endemic plant and animal species!  So the better question is how won’t deforestation of our planet effect the rest of us and the answer is…. Every single human begin from the local people who lose their ecosystem and traditional medicines to the child with leukemia, or the parent dying of cancer, even the woman who wants to reduce her wrinkles will be effected!  Rainforest loss and the mass extinction of plants and animals is irreversible. Once they’re gone so are the hopes for a cure with them.

* How can we help the Dr. ating foundation?
~ First and foremost we need funding to get off the ground. You can go to our website  http://dratingfoundation.com/DrAting/Home.html to learn more about the foundation and how to make a donation.
Another way people can contribute is by spreading the project news to potential donors or writing articles on the project on your blogs and in magazines.
Lastly, people can contribute their time and energy by becoming volunteers at the project site. They can help provide health service or set up facilities for ecotourism and eco-education.
To make sure the funds are being used properly, an independent auditing will be carried out every year. The donors will be sent the audit reports.

So there you have it. Make a difference, make a donation, make a change so our children’s children have a home and so will the plants and animals.

You can read the article on Dr. Ating in my very talented friends new Magazine Ember….. check it our from the link below.

Dr. Ating

We set out from the class around 9am; followed the road down to the river, past the “holy spring” and up into the village of Sibang Kaja.

When we arrived at Agro Wisata we were greeted by the friendly staff and showed a loooong movie that was completely in Indonesian! The kids were very patient.

After the movie wrapped we strolled past hundreds of mulberry trees. The mulberry leaves are the worm’s primary diet source.  The kids couldn’t resist the juicy berries..

The young worms are kept in a “cooler”, and after 17 days the mature worms are given fresh leaves to feast on…..

After a short time they spin silk from their mouths creating a cocoon…

The cocoon’s of silk are boiled (with the worm inside..)

Then the silk is carefully unraveled…

then spun…..

It takes a lot of work to get from the worm to the fabric store. Now I know why silk is mahal sekali ( very expensive).

When the tour was finished the kids did some beautiful Batiking.

On the walk to and from school each group had to find 15 symmetrical objects…. our group found 22:)

A few photos of the walk…..

Here are a few shots from Desa Canggu and Desa Seseh……

Enjoy:)

Voting is open until Dec. 7. To vote for Robin Lim, click here. You can vote up to 10x a day. Vote, Vote, Vote!!!!

Ibu means Mother in Indonesian.

Learn more about Robin and her work here.

One afternoon  Arlo and I head to Ace Hardware in Kuta to buy some silly string and a terrarium planter but what to are wondering eye should appear? No, not a miniature sleigh and 8 tiny reindeer…. The “Show” ( as all good roustabouts would call it) had arrived! The circus had come to town.

The Big Top was up. The once empty Ace Hardware parking lot had been transformed.  The Kinkers (performers) and Clowns were in their trailers. The roustabouts and rubbermen (road crew and balloon sellers) were resting in the shady spots. The only thing moving were the elephants chained up around the side. A small crowd gathered watching them strain against their chains as they tried to reach the food.

Okay I must confess I read Water for Elephants this summer (hence the lingo) and I do love the idea of an old-fashioned circus… daring young trapeze artist dressed in a pink sequin leotards, tight rope walkers, men in shiny black top hats and don’t forget about the side-show freaks! A bearded lady and the sword swallowing guy! This is serious fun. But, I can’t get past the “elephant in the room” or in this case “the elephant in the tent“….

Soon the ticket counter will open, crowds of people will make their way inside, helium balloons will float from sticky hands into the evening sky, the ring master will start the show, and the crowd will hush in anticipation of the first act. Everyone will be laughing and having a good time so what’s the problem?

The truth is a circus is not harmless entertainment. Those with no voice suffer.  These animals are abused and broken for our “fun”.

We will not see the show.  My 7 year old can feel their sadness. ” look at her eyes mom, I think she wants to go home”  “If only we could let the elephants go free” Arlo says wistfully, “but they might get hurt in traffic…..”

Watch the videos below to learn more…  *WARNING: disturbing  and violent*

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U2KEjdcceng

Arlo and I  spent a cozy night up in the strawberry capital, Badugl with my friend Ann and her daughter. It’s only a 2hr drive from the hot sunny beaches of Canggu, but we felt like we’d traveled to a different country.  A cool rainy mist clung to the mountains. The air was like early spring back home in NC. I happily wrapped a sweater around me.  The kids ran through the botanical gardens bundled up in their long sleeves. The misty fog floating in the tree tops gave the forest an enchanted feel.

We stayed at a  funky little hotel with shag carpets, pink walls and a fire place! After the cold rainy end to our day in the woods the fire was a real treat!

After dinner we played board games by the fire. The next morning brought clear skies for the drive back. We had a great time. It was nice to get a break from the heat and spend some time with new friends.

DEATH

On the ride home we came upon a very sad accident that had only happened 10 or 15 minutes before. A teenage boy about Silas’ age or maybe a little older was laying motionless on the pavement. The traffic moved slowly as we made our way up to the scene and rolled inches away from his lifeless body. Arlo and Anouck pressed their noses to the window.  I couldn’t stop them from looking, I couldn’t stop from looking. In slow motion we all took in the details of this tragedy. A helmet laying haphazardly on the ground, flip flops tossed a few yards from his body,  the blood flowing  from his head made a winding river down the white line on the cement. His face and body had been lovingly covered with a banana leaf, just the soft brown flesh of his bare feet stuck out towards the sky. A woman sat beside him beating her legs, shaking her fists, wailing into the growing crowd. I wanted to look away, I wanted everyone to look away. It wasn’t fair for us to witness her pain, so raw and open- spilling out onto the streets like her sons blood. But of course I couldn’t, no one could. We were all mesmerized by the reality of life and death, the pain and suffering unfolding before us.  When I close my eyes I can still see the deep lines of sorrow etched into her face, her faded pink skirt and head wrap. I can feel her desperate, crazy need to pull back time…only a few minutes before her child had been brimming with life, full of possibilities. It had to seem impossible to her that it’s all over now.   A man is standing near the boy,  he is gripping a police officer’s vest with both hands.He is tan and strong, a man who has worked hard in his life.His expression is one of confusion, he shakes his head as if he’s trying to convince himself it hasn’t happened. His hands drop to his sides; he is defeated.  He is saying something…I don’t know what, I’m not sure who he is…the father I think but, maybe the bus drive that hit him…I’m just not sure.

The Hindu people are very busy in the days leading up to Neypi.  Offerings need to be made, rice cooked, houses cleaned, statues bathed and the finishing touches on the Ogoh- Ogoh’s has to happen.

The local villages, schools and temples start working on these scary creatures about 6 weeks before the celebration.

First comes  Melasti 3 days before Neypi , all the effigies of the Gods from all the village temples are taken to the river or the sea in long and colorful ceremonies. The statues are bathed by God Baruna, before being taken back home to their shrines.

The New years eve celebration of Tawur Kesanga begins with a large exorcism ceremony at the village cross-road, the meeting place of demons…. These fantastic monsters and evil spirits are carried through the villages on the shoulders of eight or more men/boys.  The procession is followed by gamelan music and girls carrying torches along with a lot of screaming bystanders.

At every intersection of the village the Ogoh-ogoh is rotated counter-clockwise three times.  This is done to appease and bewilder the evil spirits so they will leave the island and the people unharmed.  At the end of the night the Ogoh Ogoh’s are burnt to ashes as a symbol of self-purification.

The celebration ends and the New Year begins with silence. From day break to-day break the island of Bali is silent.  The 24 hours is reserved for self-reflection, anything that might interfere with that purpose is restricted.  The rules are no lighting fires; no use of electricity; no working; no traveling; and for some, no talking or eating at all.  Even non-Hindu’s and tourist must observe the restrictions out of respect for the local people.

The normally chaotic streets are empty. No buzz of motorbikes, no chatter floating from the Warungs, no tourist’s dotting the sandy beaches, no airplanes flying through the skies. The only ones out were the local Banjar (security) wearing the traditional checkered sarong and carrying a big sword. Their job is to put a stop to any activities that disturb the silence.

I was feeling a little nervous about how I could keep our 3 very loud boys quiet but they (surprise to me) were happy to follow the rules. We spent the day talking to each other in hushed voices, reading, playing legos, working on a school project with Zeb and just relaxing together. It turned out to be a lovely family day.

That night  Philip and the big boys had turned on a movie it was very quiet but the light could be seen through our windows, a few minutes later the Banjar and their swords were at our door…..

They were very kind and ask that we take the computer into a back room with curtains. They appreciated that as non Hindus we were observing the rules… for the most part.

I feel lucky to have been here. It was beautiful to be a part of something so much bigger than ourselves a unified experience shared by 2 million.  Leaves you to wonder what the world would be like if we all observed a day of self-relection. Certainly couldn’t hurt the people or the planet….

Happy 1933 Bali!!!

As we set off for our walk the sky to the west was streaked with deep shades of purple fading into the night sky. As we stood quietly outside of our house I asked “what is the first thing you hear” to the kids.”Motorbike” says Arlo,  “Crickets and the wooden bell on the cow’s neck”  said Zeb.

“Whats the air feel like” I ask Arlo.”Cold” he replies…”hmm, cold. Well okay, you’ve obviously gone native…”(it’s no less than 90 degrees F). ”It’s also smokey” says Zeb, ” the rice fields must be burning”.  The recently harvested rice fields are routinely burnt prior to the next planting.

As we walk towards the road we spot a few bats, a swarm of bugs circle the street lamp, and headlights bounce before us.  It’s getting dark,  the streetlights are behind us now and the traffic has slowed. In the growing darkness up ahead we can see a line of Bakso carts being peddled, pushed, and pulled back from the beach by tired vendors heading home.

It’s Silas who notices the glowing orange orb ascending from the rice fields first.. We watch quietly, amazed at the beauty and grace of the rising full moon. Smoke from the burning mounds of rice grass climbs up to meet the stars.  They look like little volcanoes on the verge of erupting…

We walk a little further and stop at an open air Cafe to have a bite of food.  The streets are quiet as we make our way home. We all agree that the moon is extra bright but not sure if it looks that much closer…it did when it was rising but now that it’s hanging in the sky like a picture on a wall we’re not sure….One thing for certain it was a super moon walk!

Philip was in town this month so we all went down to the beach at Temple Perancak.  The sand was scattered with banana leaf  baskets filled with flowers and bits of food,  elaborate bamboo structures and incense sticks still burning prayers to the gods. And of course trash… all remnants of a ceremony held earlier in the evening. Soon they would be washed to sea with the rising tide.

The moon was bright and high….casting light on the crashing surf. A local guy came and sat beside us. He chatted with Philip. Wanting to practice his english and giving Philip a chance to practice his Indo. Arlo drifted off to sleep, Zeb dug a hole and I sat back and listened to the waves.

How are your walks going? Has it become part of each month?

Next moon May 17th

May 17th

We had a lovely full moon spent walking on the beach after dinner. A gang of boys and few grown ups, some stray dogs, foamy waves and a bright clear sky!

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I have tried to get this idea organized into a post but instead I’m wandering down memory lane. Caught up in thoughts of what it was like to travel with one spunky 2.5 year old, the challenges of 9 months in a van with a 4yr old….trips with 2 kids in tow (one of which was a very disagreeable 3-year-old screaming in the streets of Puerto Rico) ….there I go again okay maybe I should stick to a laundry list of the good, the bad and the Ugly (seriously it can get U G L Y!)

Pros/ Cons: age 5/6

Up for anything he’s big enough to do…/ Not big enough to do a lot of want he wants…

Happy to be with the group../ Can need more attention than his brothers want to give

Helps you to slow down and really see things that you would otherwise miss..Great on long hikes through New Zealand/ Not so helpful when your trying to catch your train in Saigon

Lots of laughs../ endless hours of I spy

Pros/Cons :age 9/10

Can really “learn”  about the places we go and people we meet…

Is big enough to do the more adventurous stuff with his dad and big brother…

Is genuinely interested in new people, places and cultures…

Will eat just about anything once…

Honestly can’t think of any cons to travel at this age…

Pros/Cons: age 14/15

Can drive a motorbike! /  Can Drive a motorbike!

Can help with his brothers…/Will pick fights with his brothers for fun…

He will quietly listen to music for hours on a bus,train, plane etc…(so no 10 hour trips of what, where, why, how long)…/When he’s not listening to music he will usually be complaining about something…

Doesn’t need help packing or getting what he needs organized../Won’t do it until the last second…

Biggest con at his age is the constant need to look like he’s not having a good time. That and feeling like he’s missing out on High School with his friends…

I think for Silas continuous travel for a set period of time would be better than slow, growing roots in new places open-ended  kinda travel that fit the other 2 better….

Each and every age has more pros than cons.  It’s family dynamics that bring in the Ugly…sibling rivalry, boredom, over stimulation, sitting next to your brother for hours at a time…

Too much family time is not always a good thing….

For more pros and cons of traveling with children check out these great blogs:

Wandermom: http://wandermom.com/news-and-views/highs-and-lows-of-traveling-with-a-teen-and-a-tween/

…

Barbara: http://www.thedropoutdiaries.com/2011/04/attack-of-the-asian-baby-snatchers/

Lisa: http://www.aroundtheworldineasyways.com/2011/04/the-age-of-perfection/

Marilia: http://www.trippingmom.com/what´s-like-to-travel-with-a-3-year-old-girl/

Heather: http://globetrottingmama.com/take-your-child-to-work/

Twitter: @greenwooddavis

Snaps & Blabs  | @snapsandblabs  |  “Traveling with children – which one to leave home?”

http://snapsandblabs.com/blog/6817/traveling-with-children-best-age

Tracy: http://ourtravellifestyle.com/2011/04/28/long-term-travel-young-kids-under-6-best-age

Theodora: “Travels with a Ten Year Old” http://travelswithanineyearold.com/2011/04/28/travels-with-a-ten-year-old/

Twitter: @mummy_t

Jessie: Why We Love Traveling with our Daughter http://www.wanderingeducators.com/best/traveling/why-we-love-traveling-our-daughter.html

Twitter: @WanderingEds

Ana: @riderby “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly: Traveling Around the World With a 5-Year-Old.”  http://www.riderbymyside.com/post/5006298398/the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly-traveling-around-the#disqus_thread

Christine: The Amazing Adventures of Baby Cole

http://almostfearless.com/2011/04/28/the-amazing-adventures-of-baby-cole

Twitter: @almostfearless

http://gotpassport.org/2011/04/28/the-world-is-our-playground/

When you lose those you love while your away it’s a strange thing. I can live in the fantasy that they are still back home living and breathing for oh so long and then out of no where the truth is too big to hide from. The reality hits hard. They are gone.  We are far away. We will not see their smiling eyes, wagging tails or be embraced in a loving bear hug from them when we return.

The first death came unexpected our little dog Gizmo died.  I felt guilty. He was the only one of the three dogs we had moved from the farm to a new place when we left. Was it fair to just up and leave the people and animals we loved….

Shortly after that I learned that a close friends husband was at the end of his battle against cancer and was dying quickly.

J called me one Friday  in October and said it was time, she needed me.  On Tuesday Arlo and I left. I should explain when I refer to J as my friend I really mean my family… my sister…not by blood but by fate…by divine intervention, by accident?  I don’t know what to call it but I do know she’s my family. I have several woman I would consider “better” friends, woman who don’t drive me crazy, push all of my buttons, do things I can’t comprehend, but I  love her and owe her so much. She has been my mentor, my advocate, my big sister she has saved me from myself countless times and always has by back even when we disagree. So for this person I knew I would fly 6000 miles. I had too.

Two days after leaving Bali I was home. As I drove up her road past the red and yellow patches of color that dotted the hillside I was over come with fear. What was I thinking?  How could I help? I don’t know death. As a midwife I have felt deaths unwanted presence creep up behind me but it’s always been hidden in the shadows blown away with babies first breath…. I am aware at each birth that the doors to both life and death are open.  The scales could tip and the long hand of death could pull at the tiny soul before us.   Because of my “experience” I assumed I could handle this I would know what to do and how to do it… I would take charge. Was I being naïve, egotistical, stupid?  I mean really how can you “take charge” of death?

But, there I was face to face with it  staring it down in those big beautiful eyes, smelling it fill the room with its strong stench, hearing it rattle through his body with each breath…creeping closer everyday. I was scared but in that vulnerable state I was able to find a rhythm. For a week we laughed and cried, washed and watched, waited and prayed. He was clear for two days he tried to speak, look into our eyes, even smile. He was so brave, so ready, so strong. As were J and their son M. What grace they carried as they marched toward death together hand in hand.

In the beginning I would feel his presence. You knew when he was “in” his body but, other times you could feel his spirit hovering around the room tethered to his body like a helium balloon tied to the arm of a toddler. Bobbing up and down, floating back and forth.  As the Autumn days grew shorter so did his life. Death grew impatient. D was leaving  us for many hours at a time now. He floated far away…..

It’s funny because sometimes as J and I cooked and cleaned, chatted and listened, checking in on D it felt like we were at one of many  births we attended together….waiting for a new life. Yet here we were watching for death. The thought of losing one of my family  sends a rush of panic through my body, tears fill my eyes I push it back I pray I will not know such suffering. I watch J and M and know that they will.

I can’t sleep one night I get up and check on J and D. I’m startled by the look in D’s eyes… It scares me.  J is fuzzy, I tell her to sleep, I leave the room.  I see M is restless. I go back to bed it’s cold. I pull Arlo close to me. I’m shaking, I lie in the darkness for what seems like hours but the clock has only moved 15 minutes. I know the time has come, my heart races, I hold Arlo tight, I have to remind myself of who D was. He would not harm us, death has only come for one, we are safe. I go into J’s room she is standing there. Lost, waiting, confused…. Time begins to move forward again. D is dead the tether has snap, there is no “feeling” of him anywhere now. His body his empty he is gone. We wake M and together we wash and wrap D. It is quite beautiful to see him wrapped in muslin laid upon evergreens and rose petals in the pine box his son made.

There is a gathering of friends and family. A party breaks out.  Stories of D, songs and cheers over the fire float up into the stars I smile as I look around D would be so pleased.

Coming back to Bali has been hard I don’t know how to process or compartmentalized what I witnessed…I’m over taken with sadness at unexpected times.. I have been in states of panic waiting for “the other shoe to drop” silly as it may sound I am somewhat superstitious and my grandma always told me death comes in threes… I can’t shake that old adage it has stayed with me these years…

As the second door closed the third one opened. Today we lost a member of our family. Our beloved dog Taco. He has been with us for 13 years. Through three moves, a winter in Idaho. Where he met the love of his life Etta, 9 months of living in a VW van,  lost and found in Utah, Oregon and California, the births of Zeb and Arlo, a rattlesnake bite, full blood transfusion and many happy days romping through the woods with the boys and Montana. We will miss his waging tail, is beautiful face and his happy to be with you attitude. He was really and truly a great dog. Our best friend.

We are so grateful he and Montana were able to stay on the farm with the wonderful family renting our house. Taco died a happy old guy 105 in people years! Going home won’t be the same without him there to greet us. This is a hard lesson for the boys.  Life and death go on without us. Do we go home and be back with the people we love keeping them close, just in case? Or do we stay knowing we have loved them and will continue to love them from afar. Growing and sharing our experiences with them no matter what? It feels selfish either way……