Global and Domestic Spheres: Impact on The Traditional Settlement of Penglipuran in Bali

Abstract

The issue addressed is how to situate the ‘life-world’ of a traditional Balinese village in the context of global tourism which is now worth USD$ 7.61 trillion, This problem has been brought sharply into focus, indeed amplified, by the recently adopted policy of local government in Bali to designate specific villages as tourist sites. Such action appears to be taking place in the absence of any prior studies of the social, environmental and other impacts on local communities. The following paper represents an initial attempt to sketch out the breadth of the problem from the global to the local. The paper first proceeds by examining the conceptual framework of globalisation - fundamentally an economic process, - from which global cultural identities merge. It proceeds to give an overview of policy at a global level starting with the idea of designated United Nations World Heritage sites and the inevitable commodification of ‘place.’ Then the issues and problems that flow from these first sections are discussed. Next, the situation in Indonesia as a whole is brought into sharp relief, focussing on policy and legislation that affect the internationally celebrated island of Bali. Finally, a case study of Penglipuran, a traditional Bali Aga village is discussed taking into account the preceding context. In conclusion, suggestions are made as to the significant research and policy issues that need to be addressed concurrently with the development of the settlement. The study documented in this paper was conducted using phenomenological approaches. It was grounded by researcher's experiences, gained from her deep involvement in community life as well as physical and site observation activities during data collection period.