Biosphere Stewardship Center –
a destination for anyone interested in learning about how to care for our biosphere
A unique location
The Biosphere Stewardship Center (BSC) is located in the hills of Pejarakan Village at the margins of Bali Barat National Park in Northwest Bali. Situated at an elevation of 66 meters above sea level, this newly opened center features great views spanning our forest restoration project to the ocean and Menjangan Island in the distance.
Featuring sustainable practices
The BSC has been designed to be a demonstration center that features modern yet simple and efficient sustainable practices such as rainwater catchment, wastewater recycling, solar power and more!
Nature education programs
The Center hosts our unique lifelong learning programs that are designed for students, families and ecotourism. Working with our community leaders at their projects which are located inside and outside Bali Barat National Park, you will be immersed in the beauty of nature and learn practical hands-on skills for nature restoration.
The Center is the perfect living laboratory for discovery and the projects provide the field experience to learn how to restore coral reefs and forests as well as implement your own home food garden.
Available for rentals
The Center is the ideal space if you need to organise a conference, course, workshop, private gathering or any other type of event that needs to accommodate a group in one unique private place. Additionally, we can integrate components of our Biosphere Stewardship Programs if desired.
Modern & comfortable facilities
The Center can accommodate up to 40 people in:
- 4 double rooms with ensuite bathroom
- 8 dorms of 4, with a shared shower & toilet facility
Our open-air bamboo learning space is a sustainable building designed as a communal area for gatherings. It is fully equipped with a large screen and projector for films and presentations. The beautiful coconut floor is ideal for yoga, meditation and council circles. Menjangan island can be seen in the distance, and sunsets can be enjoyed from this special space.
Our library is the perfect place for reading a book chosen from our collection of scientific and environmental related titles in both English and Bahasa Indonesia. A large screen and projector also allow for projecting films and presentations.
A fully equipped commercial kitchen and open dining area will accommodate buffet style breakfast, lunch, snack and dinner.
Sustainable design & practices
Rainwater catchment: to take advantage of the short rainy season of NW Bali (4 months per year on average), we have equipped the roofs of 8 buildings (total surface area = 856 m2) with gutters to collect the rain. The rain is then directed to three rainwater tanks (full capacity = 168.000 liters) where it is stored to be used for watering gardens during the dry season.
Wastewater Gardens®: are a sub-surface wetland system that cleans both grey and black water and reclaims fresh water for irrigation. The Center is equipped with 3 WWG systems, each of them connected to a different water system. This ecological, low cost and low maintenance solution to the problem of human waste is particularly important in a region like Northwest Bali where water reclamation and wastewater treatment is critical for our environment.
Solar power: 40 m2 of solar panels generate up to 5.5 KW of electricity for the site; excess power is sold back to the local grid managed by PLN, the electricity provider of Indonesia. Additionally, we have a stand-alone system for the well pump if PLN goes down, and we are able to provide hot water for the kitchen.
Sustainable building materials: The buildings are made from clay bricks and the roofs of clay tiles that are mounted on structures made of coconut wood. We opted for a bamboo open-air learning space, and are proud to showcase the use of recycled wood from traditional fishing boats of Banyuwedang bay, for most of our furniture and typical Balinese doors.
No air-conditioning needed: The orientation and disposition of windows and doors for all buildings have been chosen to create self-cooling spaces that do not need AC. The height of the ceilings also plays a key role, as well as the trees planted around buildings that provide shade.
Grass-blocks for water retention: Our roads and parking areas are made of grass-blocks (total surface area = 410 m2) to allow rainwater to drain into the soil, preventing soil erosion and eventually improving the watershed of the area. Bonus: it looks beautiful! ?
Horticulture gardens: Landscaping includes a large variety of fruit trees including banana, papaya, sawo, noni, mango, avocado, dragon fruit, lime, lemon, soursop, coconut, water apple, pineapple, and pomelo.
Mini-farm: is a 658 m2 piece of land that is divided in 8 plots, where we grow organic vegetables, providing tasty and healthy ingredients such as basil, salvia, lettuce, arugula, lemon grass, ginger, squash, zucchini, chard, bok choy, tomato, eggplant, and passion fruit. The mini-farm is also our demonstration site for teaching & learning about home gardens and sustainable agriculture practices.
Composting: gives back to the soil all the good nutrients that it needs to keep growing plentiful food and healthy cycles. Food scraps from the kitchen and pruning materials from the gardens are used to produce a rich organic material that feeds and grows our soils health.
For more information, please contact us!
“Few will have the greatness to bend history,
But each of us can work to change a small portion of events
And in the total of all those acts
Will be written the history of a generation
So yes, the world is coming to an end
And the path towards a new beginning starts within you” – Robert Kennedy