Another Story Behind Bali Green Run

Another Story Behind Bali Green Run

GIANYAR, BALI: For Japanese, Taro is often used as the name of the oldest child in a family. However in Bali, Taro is the name of a village with a natural green lush and richness of unique culture.

Located 40 kilometers from Denpasar, Taro Village is settled in Gianyar Regency. In that village, Bali Green Run (BGR) was held for the first time on Sunday, 31 May 2015.

The green nuance is identical with Astra Green Lifestyle, a cause for sustainable social program that encourages people to have environmentally-friendly lifestyle.

Behind the excitement of Bali Green Run, there are interesting things that cannot be missed. Taro Village has a unique specialty. Besides its green and beautiful nature, Taro people work hand-in-hand to preserve their customs.

39 White Bulls

Indigenous people of Taro nurture 39 white bulls, which are animals with significant historical culture in the history of Bali and Taro. White bull is the element of Hindu-Shiva, with ethical culture as a form of respect and purification to God. The male white bull of Taro is called “Ida Bagus”, while the female one is called “Si Luh”.

The existence of sacred white bulls in Taro Village is related to the holy pilgrim of Ida Maha Rsi Markandheya in introducing Hindu religion from Swarna Dvipa to Bali. Beside having the essential function in the various Hindu rituals, white bull is also beneficial to eco-friendly bio-gas processing, bio-urine, and compost. Moreover, its feces, urine, saliva, milk, and tears are used for alternative medicine purposes.

White bull conservation is managed on an area of 2.5 hectares by Yayasan Lembu Putih Taro. In the area of conservation, there are also planted many medicinal plants, plants for ceremony, Balinese local fruits, flowers, and rare plants. Within the area, there is a multi-purpose hall used as training facility, inauguration, discussion, meeting, conference, and others. For adventure junkies, the area also supports for trekking and cycling activities.

Another interesting part of what Taro people do for the white bull is that there are 18 people on duty to seek grass everyday for the bulls’ food. The duty appointment takes turn daily and is previously set in the village meeting. The mutual corporation already runs in the blood of its people.

31 Entertaining Elephants

White bull is not the one and only appeal of Taro Village. Elephant that becomes the symbol of Hindu religion is commonly found in the area. These gregarious animals grow rapidly in Taro, some of the elephants are brought from Sumatra. The elephants are well-nurtured in Elephant Safari Park & Lodge area which is managed by a private company on 2.5-hectare village land area through sharing system.

The runners are free to enter the location (usually it costs Rp 100,000 per person), get 50% admission discount for runners’ family members, including elephant ride and gourmet buffet.

Beside its unspoiled village environment of Taro, its culture remains preserved. The elephants of Taro are tame. It is all because they are accustomed to coexist live with the community. This makes Bali Green Run more interesting.

100 Dog Leashes

To keep 523 runners safe, the officials handed 100 dog leashes to dog owners who live in the area along 13K and 6K running routes so that they can tie up their pets. They were happy to support the event and tied up their dogs on the day the race took place.

“In order to increase safety and comfort of the runners, Astra Life contributes by giving insurance that fits the needs of runners,” said Assistant VP Marketing & Branding Astra Life Windy Riswantyo.

Gianyar Regent Anak Agung Gde Agung Bharata fully supported the race which pays high attention to the security issues.

“For choosing Taro, Ubud, Gianyar for Bali Green Run, we are thankful, especially for bringing up arts and cultures as well as exposing white bulls, elephants, and dances of our communities,” said the Regent, adding that the Gianyar people gave a full support to the event. The Regent was present together with King of Ubud in the opening the event.

In addition to health and one-tree-for-one-runner donation, the runners were also pampered by flora and fauna tourism as well as beautiful scenery.

At least there were runners from 12 countries who participated in BGR including Indonesia with the largeest number. Others were from France, Germany, Japan, Kenya, Malaysia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Singapore, Philippines, Russia, and the United States of America.

BGR is part of Astra Green Lifestyle program, a sustainable social activity program that encourages people to love the environment and develop eco-friendly lifestyles.

Photos

White bull is the animal with a significant historical culture in the history of Bali and Taro. In this village, there are 39 white bulls nurtured by the people of Taro Village.

Gianyar, Bali, 31 May 2015
PT Astra International Tbk
Yulian Warman
Head of Public Relations