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Background Info, Links and an Interactive Java Applet to accompany our Webcast from Bali

The main reason David Suzuki went to Bali in July 2001 was to meet Dr. Stephen Lansing - the anthropologist who, with biologist James Kremer, brought to light the spiritual practices and agricultural knowledge of the Balinese Water Priests.

Quick Background: On the island of Bali the introduction of western growing techniques during the "Green Revolution" of the 1970s created a disaster for rice farmers. Insect pests ravaged the western "superseeds" and laid waste to fields that had been productive for thousands of years. This catastrophe went unexplained until anthropologist Stephen Lansing discovered that the Balinese holy order called "water priests" are not only spiritual leaders but custodians of ancient agricultural knowledge and practices. The anthropologist proved the worth of these ancient practices using a very modern method: a computer model.

For an excellent primer about The Water Priests of Bali and Stephen Lansing's work check out this illustrated article.

To watch video clips and download the original version of Bali Model visit Steven Lansing's Homepage.

For more details seek out or purchase Lansing's book on the subject: Priests and Programmers: Technologies of Power in the Engineered Landscape of Bali, J. Stephen Lansing, Princeton University Press, 1991.

The book includes a diskette with a working version of the Bali Model but... we discovered that it only runs on older Macintosh Computers - system 7 or earlier. (This is not surprising since the program was written in the mid 1980s.) To try to make this program more widely available, we've done some cybernetic archeology and converted this program to a form that can be viewed on the World Wide Web: a Java applet. (Not just any Java will do. You'll need the latest version of Java available for free here.)

This applet will allow you to run simulations to test out various strategies for rice farming in Bali. To get the most out of the program we suggest you consult the instructions and explanations included in Priests and Programmers: Technologies of Power in the Engineered Landscape of Bali.

To start the applet... click here.

MORE INFO

Lansing and Kremer made an hour long video documentary: The Goddess and the Computer which can be purchased online from Documentary Educational Resources ($60 US). One can also purchase the video from a UK source: The Royal Anthropological Institute.

Lansing has written a more wide ranging book on Balinese culture: The Balinese, J. Stephen Lansing, Harcourt Brace, 1994.

For a quick introduction to Bali and its spiritual practices in general (with quotes from Stephen Lansing) visit this page at sacredsites.com.

One can purchase another video on Bali narrated by Lansing: The Three Worlds of Bali from this source.

And... Bali isn't the only place where ancient knowledge is of value to agriculture. For more examples check out this page.

And for something completely different...

Lest you think Sacred Balance content is... well... "unbalanced" here's a link to Stefan Helmreich's critique of Lansing's work. We're sure Dr. Lansing would differ but... to summarize, Helmreich argues that the Bali Computer model fails to adequately take cultural issues into account. For more of Professor Helmreich's views on the relationship between science and culture in general and computer modeling of natural phenomena in particular check out his book Silicon Second Nature : Culturing Artificial Life in a Digital World.

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