The subak is not merely an irrigation network. It is a social institution, a spiritual practice, and a form of environmental governance that predates the modern state. Water temples at every scale  from the field shrine to the crater lake of Pura Ulun Danu Batur, coordinate planting schedules across the entire watershed, managing pest cycles and water distribution through ritual consensus rather than bureaucratic decree.

UNESCO Recognition and Its Contradictions

In 2012, the Cultural Landscape of Bali Province was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. The recognition brought global attention, and, with it, a surge in tourism that has placed the subak under new pressures. Rice fields have been converted to villas. Young farmers leave for service-sector work. The water temple calendar competes with the demands of the hospitality industry.

What Responsible Visitors Can Do

Harvest & Heritage Indonesia works with a small network of farming families in the Tegallalang and Jatiluwih areas who welcome visitors during planting and harvest periods. These visits are structured around the farmers' schedules ( not ours ) and income flows directly to the households involved.