Balinese Sustainable Agro system and Landscape (Study Program of Agribusiness) (4 weeks)

BACKGROUND

This course is designed to introduce participants with the Balinese traditional irrigation system of subak and its role in maintaining socio-ecological sustainability. It is designed for students, development professionals, and officials who seek to understand subak as a form of communitymanaged agro ecosystem that serves as an alternative to the dominant form of modern industrial agriculture. Participants will develop a comprehensive understanding on subak not only in terms of its technical and physical aspects but also its embeddedness in Balinese socio-cultural context, i.e., as social institution and its challenges amid expansion of tourism, development, and land-use change. At the end of this summer course, students will be equipped with theoretical knowledge on subak in particular and analytical skills. These new skills will be applied in team assignments, where students will be given the opportunity to reflect on development policies and practice in their own countries in relation with agriculture and sustainability.

OBJECTIVES

The interdisciplinary summer course combines perspectives from various fields of socioeconomic of agriculture, agroecology, landscape architecture, and agritourism. The objectives of the summer course include:

•              To understand the physical and

                sociocultural aspects of subak and

                their transformation

•              To understand the role of subak in

                maintaining socio-ecological

                sustainability

•              To understand sustainable pests and

                diseases control methods based on

                Balinese knowledge and wisdom

•              To know how the cultural landscape of

                Bali have been shaped by subak

•              To see architectural form that inspired

                and shaped by subak

•              To understand the impacts of tourism

                and development on subak

•              To identify the opportunities and    

                challenges of agritourism development

ACTIVITIES

1.             Class activities

2.             Field activities (site visit and field Workshop)

SUBJECTS

1.             Socio cultural and institutional aspect  of subak

2.             Balinese integrated pest management

3.             Cultural landscape of Bali and subak temple architecture

4.             Subak and agritourism