Uluwatu to get a facelift: Warungs razed and replaced
If you visited Uluwatu this past season chances are you would've noticed a change in the landscape behind the break. The change is most obvious as you follow the walking track down the valley toward the cave. On the opposite side of the valley the vegetation has been removed down to the roots exposing the dry soil and crumbling limestone. It's not all that was exposed in the clearing process; when they enquired about the devegetation, locals were told it was the first stage of a wholesale change to the Uluwatu valley. The cleared land was being sold with the proceeds used to demolish most of the existing warungs and rebuild them in a different style.
The first warungs appeared at Uluwatu in the mid-70s shortly after Alby Falzon's film Morning of the Earth put the break on the surfing map. Relaxing in the warungs, eating and drinking between sessions became as much a part of the Uluwatu experience as climbing down the ladder into the cave or navigating a Racetrack barrel. As such surfers became endeared to the locally owned warungs and the custom they provide.
Although there are now 45 warungs at Uluwatu, all of the land straddling the cliff top is owned by one family. The same family owns the land stretching up the river valley from the cave and out to the road where the aforementioned clearing had taken place. According to a local source who wished to remain anonymous, the cleared land, which measures 2.5Ha, is being considered by developers from Jakarta who plan to build 40 villas on it. When the sale is completed – and no-one could say for sure when that will be - then the warungs will be demolished.
Whatever the time frame or outcome our source is adamant change will happen: “[the land owner] will eventually redevelop the warungs. That's his land and his wish.”
Upon hearing about the proposal, surfers have been nervous about what will happen. The ad hoc architecture of the warungs, huddled as they are to the limestone cliffs, forms part of Uluwatu's allure. As does the apparent absence of red tape; in the past if a warung owner wished to expand they simply built upwards or outwards regardless of planning laws. The laissez faire construction bemused Westerners, it's one of Indonesia's enjoyable idiosyncrasies, yet it has its limits.
Another source that Swellnet spoke to, who also wished to remain anonymous, said the project had been motivated by the land owner's loss of control. “For example, one local builds a three story warung, rooms for rent, and a retail store. Another sublets to a Westerner who builds a couple hotel rooms. Other warungs are falling to pieces and about to collapse and still use asbestos roofs.” Very rarely do the warung owners seek permission to build or renovate.
During the redevelopment most of the warungs will be razed and rebuilt to a uniform code. Surviving the demolition will be Singlefin and Bluepoint, which are both situated beyond the land owners property. In their place will be modern two story warungs, plus the owner will also create zoning for a temple, the ding repair area will also be rebuilt with a better layout, as will the toilets. A 5 metre wide walkway will extend from the valley to the cave.
The new warungs will be built along the along the back of the cliff starting from below Singlefin and stretching almost to the current toilets by the old steps. The new warungs will apparently conform to a building code, though it would appear to be a code enforced by the land owner and not the Balinese government. Government planning codes prevent any structures within 50 metres of the Bukit clifftops.
Recent developments further down the Bukit Peninsula at Bingin and Dreamland have some in the community worried about the outcomes at Uluwatu. However, Swellnet's source is quick to allay those fears. “There is no talk of any foreign developers coming in,” they said. Also, existing warung owners will be justly compensated. “They will all be offered a new lease and new warung when the project is completed. The ones who will lose out are the ones who built giant structures seemingly without the correct approvals from the land owner.”
Tim Russo is an expat American surfer who's called Bali home for ten years. He's also the head of Project Clean Uluwatu (PCU). PCU has an overarching goal of protecting the entire ecosystem of Uluwatu - the cliff, cave, reef, ravine, and the water that flows through it all. PCU currently manage and pay for the daily collection and removal of solid waste at Uluwatu. They've also been instrumental in other preservation projects such as local composting systems, and a liquid waste treatment system that links black and grey water from every warung in the valley. Russo estimates PCU have treated over 1.7 Million litres of raw sewerage that would have otherwise found its way onto the reef.
Although comprised mainly of Western expats, the PCU are concious of being branded as meddling bules. Russo says they listen without judging and afford the Balinese the highest level of respect. They also work very closely with the locals, the Uluwatu warung owners, and other influential stakeholders such as the Kepala Desa (village head). “We meet every few months to discuss what's going on, listen to their feedback, and address any concerns. They are very supportive of our efforts to clean up the area.”
When the new warungs are built they will integrate their plumbing into PCU's liquid waste treatment system. PCU have also reached out to the prospective buyers of the cleared valley on how their development needs to be sustainable and implement eco-friendly construction methods. According to Russo, the new development “needs to maintain the natural watershed and water flow so as not to change the dynamics of the river valley that created the cave and the world famous wave at Uluwatu.”
Comments
Very sad, the area should have been purchased and saved from development a long time ago and made into a surfing reserve or something to try to retain some of the area and the vibe.
Boy times have changed,can remember the first time there in the early 70s and there was nothing there,been a while since the last time at ulus,probably 90s but you could see it was going to get out of control and looking at that photo is a bit of a shock.Thank God someone cares like Tim Russo.
so sad, yeh it was out of control, but it worked in that kaotic fashion that most things work in Indonesia. I heard a french guy has bought up a heap of warungs at bingin, he wants to open a titty bar because clearly there are not enough titties on bingin beach.
I'm wary of any tourist development in Third World countries but I'm prepared to give the benefit of the doubt in this case. For one, the warungs as they currently stand are a ghastly mess, not just aesthetically but also, as Tim Russo says, environmentally. Any improvement that accounts for waste removal is a bonus.
"a ghastly mess"
No way!, they are characteristically beautiful
Those concrete boxes popping up all over the bukit, they are "a ghastly mess"
Granted the concrete villas multiplying over the Bukit are a visual blight. Here's hoping the new warungs don't share the same architectural DNA.
Only been to Ulu a couple of times but the girls in the Warungs did the best banana pancakes I've ever had. The vernacular architecture, humble yet appropriate, the girls who run the show and remember your name after the first intro, it was all a complete joy.
More people, more shit, more problems. I wish them well. Hope they can retain the essence of the place, however unlikely.
Another thing to consider is currently* there is a dozen or so little warungs, most likely rented/leased by the Ibu's that work there or there families, there basically small local business owners.
With a new development and chances are it will be owned/leased(in some way) by either foreigners or rich Indonesians most likely from Jakarta.
Sure there will be new jobs for Indonesians but these will be very low paying, and what would you rather working in your own little business or working a dead end job for some rich cat?
And i can guarantee you won't be able to get cheap banana pancakes or cheap massages or leave your things at the new places.
IMO its just the nail in the coffin for the area.
*Havent been up there for over ten years as no interest in the area, so I'm going off ten year old info, but assume pretty much the same deal.
Very sad to see them go , bit like Padang Padang beach all the Warungs have been replaced with a modern (ugly for mine) structure.
amb, I agree with you on a few points. Certainly the enchantment and character will be lost at ULUs. Particularly, along the path it is another world - just awesome and buzzing, I can not imagine it keeping that amazing buzz. But I think with the traffic going through that development may holistically be better for the area. The traffic, vehicle and foot traffic, is not going to go away so I can understand where the land owner is coming from.
I think Padang Padang is a bit different to ULUs as the big draw card there (Aside from the waves) is sitting on the perfect Padang Padang beach or the bar on the beach (it is paradise) and they have developed it to certain degree but once you get down the path it is awesome still! ULUs does not have that beach and beach bar destination at the bottom, the path is the great part when you are out the water, and it sounds like the whole place is being gutted and revamped from the top, down the path to bottom.
Bingin is also still really cool, once you get down onto the beach as down the path it still has character.
Yeah I've always loved the character/vibe at Ulus but have always wondered just how structurally sound that whole area is. Some of those warungs appear to just cling to the cliff face. Something had to give in that location sooner rather than later in regards to upgrading the area given the mass increase traffic of all kinds.
Loved hanging and surfing there in the mid 90s but despite being back in the area a few times since I haven't been down the cliffs. I was pretty gutted to hear that there was a nightclub/bar on top of the hill full of aussies and euros coming up from kuta to party and get wasted. I used to stay with Made Ugly half way up the Bhukit and he took a few of us to a ceremony in the Ulus temple once. I am sure many commenters here have had similar experiences but for a 19 year old aussie travelling alone it was pretty magical.
Well anyway, that's progress for you. Wishing the locals all the best.
First trip OS, stayed in the Ulu Warungs for a month. It was free. You paid for for food. Rats and monkeys. The uncrowded backlit late arvo sessions after every one headed back to Kuta were magical.
The changes now to the Bukit are a heartbreaking example of surfer led overdevelopment. Hard not to see us as a cancer on the area.
Great article Stu. I supposed something was always going to give. I have been going there every year now for 10 years and you can see a drastic change year to year. Once Made Lana built his trendy bar then Blue Point extended and built the single fin bar it completely changed the indo grunge atmosphere, now read groovy surfer with Lost or Channel Islands boards everywhere. Great example of when a landscape and development master plan is essential. If it was very carefully done in conjunction with the locals and owner, and a general style and size of warung (or a module) was agreed on, then it could still work. Deus are a great example of moving up market but keeping a good feel to the place. As Burgsurfer noted, the walk is a critical part of the experience: Narrow, uneven, lots of levels, people everywhere very Medieval and similar in structure to the hill villages everybody loves in Europe, and which are the prototypical human scale village. Has a great organic feel to it. 5 metre walkway will kill that, just look at dreamland what a shithole that is now. The infrastructure definitely needed upgrading, real pity they are going to throw the baby out with the bathwater. Balagan is the last refuge of the traditional Bukit Warung. No doubt they will scrub that clean soon too.
'the walk is a critical part of the experience: Narrow, uneven, lots of levels, people everywhere very Medieval and similar in structure to the hill villages everybody loves in Europe, and which are the prototypical human scale village. Has a great organic feel to it.'
The walk was once absolutely nothing like that. That's the already half dead version.
The walk once, the once was a relatively short time in its surfing lifetime. It has been like that for well over 15 years now and as far as development goes it is organic. There is no planning to it as such it is just build as you go. I disagree that it is half dead, I would argue it is really alive and thriving and a stack of fun just too much of a good thing. Nothing wrong with lots of activity and humanity puts a smile on the dial.
Just noting that by your original reasoning then, that an even more populated 5 metre walk should now bring even more of a smile to the dial, not kill it. Its a bit like a New Yorker might like to see and want. New York in at Ulu's. Once people went to visit Bali. The original, Balinese village 'walk' was nothing like either 'walk' that you mentioned. It was a quiet dirt road all through Kuta, and all the way out to Ulu's. People from the area would walk amasing distances to get to markets etc, to Denpasar... in comparison to now. During the original walk you would interact with the Balinese people from the area. Who actually lived there, fished and farmed there, and at all the spots along the coast. Even at airports, Kuta etc. It was 'Balinese' by comparison. Super cruisy, no rush, all in good time, funny. At Padang, you would just sleep on the beach, or in a village hut nearby, well, miles away by today's standards, if invited. From my perspective I would have gone to Europe, to a typical European scenario, if thats the experience I was after.
Uplift you are completely misinterpreting what I am saying and making an unfair extrapolated analogy. Bali is crowded, the Bukit less so. It may have had some bucolic splendour many years ago but that is long gone. These people were the poorest on Bali prior to us whities due to the underlying geology of limestone and its lack of water holding ability (difficult to grow rice and skeletal topsoils) now they are some of the richest due to land value. I am not going to deny them a buck and that is what they have done by building little shacks along a track to make some money from us relatively rich westerners. I think they did it really well as it developed as I said, organically. Little shops and cafes chaotically arranged along a path with a squillion dollar view. Granted it is not rural however for a clustered village on the edge of a cliff I reckon it is great fun. Things need urgent fixing like the infrastructure however I haven't got a problem with the action, not into super cruisy (I get bored with it) and love the chaotic way things get done compared to the screwed down nature of what happens here. Nothing stays the same and managing growth is the key to not trashing the place completely. A 5 metre road would do that just look at dreamland. It would put a giant gash through the place and get you straight to the cave, destroying what is at present, I think, a great journey to the cave.
Nah, I'm just saying its not what I would look for. I like the cruisy thing. I am in the position of being able to compare the two scenarios from personal experience, and as you say, much change has happened. I was there maybe 5 years ago, and ran into a lady who's hut I stayed in over 35 years ago. She had big rolls of rupiah, and was in charge of the sellers/massage etc girls. We had some funny talks. She smokes like a train now. Its true that that area was a poor area though, but it was effected by the earlier dutch, and western effects. Change can mean many things.
I think people will be surprised when they see the scale of this, a surf spot anywhere else and there would be serious protests, its just the apathy and niceness of the Indonesians, (and perhaps a propensity to make money) that is allowing this.
In September I saw they had cleared of all vegetation and excavated into terraces the whole valley immediately behind Ulus without touching the existing stuff, Including the existing stuff that is a big area.
Also in September a taxi driver told me there is a new mayor in Bali who is very pro development that many of the locals are not happy with. He said there are plans for a Dubai style palm Island development over near Benoa harbour which many locals did not want. It looks like the flash new Benoa road is part of a master plan.
Everyone has romantic memories of how it used to be (me included)
..., but if you were to remove your rose coloured glasses , you will see the island being trashed and buckling under the weight of mass tourism that it simply cannot handle, and on top of this , the Govt has grand plans to increase tourism by 500% over the next 5 years.
Surfers used to be the only visitors to the bukit, but not any more - now surfers are the minority.
At most of these old warungs we used to visit , the old cooking oil was thrown out the back window into the bush or into the ocean, and the crap from the toilet , or the soap from the showers would end up in a buried drainage pit , and this crap would seep out through the sand into the ocean badly polluting where we all like to play ...,
....., and at almost all places this is still continuing .
With the huge amount of tourist coming to the bukit everyday now, we even have Kuta style traffic jams down here.
It is now time for you lot to throw away your rose coloured glasses , because those days of old are gone / over / no more
....., and what we have now is a "pollution problem" that needs some serious action .
(add to this , a water problem, and an energy problem ..., and a ...., etc etc)
The great efforts of those like PCU - urgently needs to be implemented at every spot if we are to save what we have left .
If that means to survive the next ten years .......,
The only real long term solution is ..., "Ripping down every incorrectly built" guesthouse / warung there is - To force implement an eco - sustainable waste management system ....,
- then so be it ............, There is no other way.
NOW is the time to look after the islands sustainability, and not turn a blind eye to the it (as is being currently done) ..........,
- because at the current rate that it is being destroyed , Bali will be a no - go zone before long .....,
- where tourists will instead choose other places to visit ..., and where will that leave everyone ? ...., Bankrupt , in a polluted cesspit , thats where.
Must say that heading down to check out Balangan about a month ago, it was sad to see how much land near the water is cleared and for sale. Ulus is built up and I get what you are saying "There is no other way" but very sad to see that Balangan is poised to be a resort, suppose it was a nice beach... I think what is clearly going on there is worse - more development, more environment strain.
The re-development at Uluwatu is just replacing development that is there, with something that will hopefully be better in all ways, so hopefully less strain on the eco-system. If that means loosing a little charm, then as you said "there is no other way"
BS. It's not the guesthouses but the mass tourism resorts that are the looming problem.
what do you mean "its not the guesthouses" ..., thats a complete load of bullsh#t ..., the water pollution containing huge levels of - e coli bacteria , detergents, and oils at the bukit surfbreaks of ; impossibles, bingin, balangan is a direct result of these beachfront guesthouses that you are falsely refering to.
You are correct about mass tourism , and it is now mass tourism also staying in these guesthousesby keeping them full , or near full year round . Everywhere (Bukit guesthouses) is usually 80% empty this time of year ..., but right now , business is booming , and thats a lot of turds and shampoo seeping out into the ocean.
Comments like yours freeride , suggest absolutely nothing to correct a formidable situation
Razing the guesthouses will create a vacuum, small Indonesian businesses will lose out and we'll see massive Dubai-style resort development in the hands of large foreign investors backed by dubious links to high end Indonesian officials.
Which probably won't have the positive impact on the environment which you are implying.
With respect, that sounds to me like jumping out of the frying pan into a fucking bushfire.
No vacuum. From all reports the warungs will be rebuilt and leases offered back to the original business owners.
Maybe for that particular Ulus development, and I'll wait and see on that. Very far from prepared to take that on faith. Money talks in Indonesia in a much more nakedly transparent way than it does here, where at lest the perception of due process must be adhered to.
But Expat is proposing something much bigger for the whole Bukit if I understand him correctly.
The problem is mass tourism and the unsustainable demands it is making on the natural resources of Bali.
all I am proposing is we/they cannot keep directly letting our crap and other human waste flow straight to the ocean. If left as is , no-one will change or invest in good septic tanks etc - while others are still avoiding it and trying to milk the cow for the last remaining drop.
Lets not sidetrack and speculate on who, what, and where govt corruption may - or may not get in the way - that guesswork and its fear factor has nothing to do with the enviro-friendly first hand steps that urgently need to be implemented .
I have some university test results showing some horrific pollution levels , and soon all will be lost if drastic measures are not imposed asap. There is no use denying the current environmental hazards, and if a business is enviro-friendly , then no need to make them change ..., but those without proper waste and sewerage treatments , they must bite the bullet and install / rebuild ....., what ever it takes - because within 5 - 10 years the reef will be dead , the fish stocks will be elsewhere , and the tourists will no longer visit in the numbers they are currently enjoying and relying on , and there will be nothing left for their children - that is where we are rapidly heading towards now.
Steve's right. In the case of Ulu's, Single Fin is now plugged into PCU filters 6 days a week, wasn't supposed to be the case. They can't hand handle the overflow on the Sunday night and it overflows untreated. They have consulted with PCU in new development so touch wood, it will be a massive improvement.
I don't have romantic memories, I accept the development and I'm amazed and impressed at how it develops each year with rustic charm, I don't even mind single fin, its quite tasteful for a cesspit nightclub.
Good on pcu for their concerns and intentions, but I dont agree that every warung needs razing to implement sustainable development (an oxymoron by the way) a lot of embedded energy goes into demolishing and rebuilding.
If some of the bules making serious coin out of the place pooled their money and made good toilets/waste facilities around the place you could address the issues whilst maintaining the charm, eliminating the need for bulldozers and the moving out of local businesses. fair enough develop the land behind but the local warungs should be able to stay (if that's what they want). But they will be talked around as indonesians are too impressionable by western ways, they don't realise what they have got. So it continues where western colonisation is replaced by western clone-isation as the westerners move in and slowly make it more and more like the home they left, strange things humans.
sypkan, 'sustainable development' in it's purest form, is not an oxymoron, however 'sustainable growth' is. Often when people say/write/see the former they mean/think of the latter, and thus this leads to the negative connotations that go with it.
Certainly the term is misused and abused by those who have no intention to adhere to the basic tenets of sustainable development, and seek only to use it as a cover (e.g. "greenwash") for activities that lead to anything but sustainable outcomes.
The 'development' in 'sustainable development' is really referring to 'change', or in a more practical sense 'changing a place'. If I purchase a run down cattle station with severely depleted ecological values, and return it to a more natural state, and then running livestock on it in a way that does not exceed the lands annual capacity to regenerate (i.e. balancing needs of both human and local ecosystem), then that is sustainable development. (incidentally, anyone see Australian Story the other night?).
And if you come back with some rubbish about "if humans are changing the environment to suit their needs, like with livestock farming, it can't be sustainable'. That is absolute hogwash and I will bodyslam that down with numerous examples of both animals (e.g. African Elephant) AND plants (e.g. Eucalyptus) that change their surrounding environment in ways that suit themselves but can be detrimental to other specie (and even spell their local demise).
ok I should have wrote 'a bit of an oxymoron', I'm not educated on the intricacies of using the term
You have given a good example of sustainable development, somehow though, I do not think they will return depleted ulus to its natural state, and run a sustainable amount of cattle (tourists), but hey we all know that is a bit Idealistic.
I used the term, probably wrongly, to point out spruiking sustainability or the development being more sustainable is questionable if you consider the demolition/ construction, and if you consider the nature of the businesses ie. low energy warungs serving lots of people versus high energy serving few, because unfortunately I think Indo D's predictions are correct regarding the nature of the future services, staffing etc. All the Bukit places really do employ a lot of local people currently, with a lot of autonomy and a real sense of community. This will be eroded away with western homgenisation process, which I think is an attack on local culture. Isnt culture in sustainable development too? it should be.
Wonder if you've avoided Mowgli's 'bodyslam' with that answer? Was kinda looking forward to seeing that.
Grew up surfing Ulu from the late 70's, have noticed for more than the last decade getting out of the water on dusk it felt I was getting changed in the middle of a beer garden, I dislike the bukit as it has turned into such a trendy surf scene, rather hang in Legian with the bogans(more entertaining) but the traffic kills that option.
Well, we need to remember it aint ours. We just made it so popular and gave the locals a great and easy income. Sounds like the local owner is making hay while sun is shining.
I'd call it a good living by their standards, but not an easy one.
are tim russo and ketut pitur mates,,
You need to reverse your thinking in order to understand the way things work in this area.. If the warungs are ever "razed" it would only be to create a stronger base structure so that they could then be added to vertically.. second, third, etc.. floors. McDonalds, Pizza Huts. All the good stuff. Right now, most families in the area have a warung. But those families grow exponentially over time.. more sons. So, the only place is up.