Selat Forest is Green Again

About three kilometers from Selat village's main office, some 5,000 seedlings of hardwood trees such as the Chinese Albizia (Albizia chinensis), white teak (Gmelina arborea), Kadam (Neolamarckia cadamba) and kejimas (Duabanga mollucana) are spread about. Located in Buleleng regency, Bali, this village is where I Ketut Mangku and other villagers manage these thousands of tree seedlings.

Every now and then, Mangku, 50, pulls out weeds and grass which are also growing in plastic bags (polybags). "These will soon be three months old. We will plant the seedlings which are in prime condition in the protected forest near the village," said Mangku, the chairman of the Pandan Harum Village-Owned Enterprise (BUMdes).

November 18, 2014