Sparks from the fireplace filled the air when a descendant of an extended fifteenth-century family of blacksmiths dipped into the flames a pair of tongs containing an alloy of valuable metals. In his forge in the Balinese village of Klungkung, Jro Mangku I Wayan Sudiarta gave the impression of serenity as he carved sacred symbols into the temple bell. It took the blacksmith-turned-priest 70 hours to create the bell, which was cast with black volcanic earth and shaped like gold, silver, copper, zinc and iron. Value the wait. Because when it is played, the temple bell is said to create the sound that comprises all sounds. It brings health, prosperity and peace and marks beginnings and ends.
Sudiarta is one of the few blacksmiths left in Bali who can create this sacred bell by hand. However, his legacy is not only through his craftsmanship, but the fact that he is now one of 11 Indonesian artisans helping to protect the country. Run your jobs on Web3, a new iteration of the internet that includes blockchain technologies.
The artisans partnered with Quantum Temple, a Web3 platform designed to maintain cultural heritage, and the Indonesian Ministry of Tourism to create Paths to Alangö, a collection of NFTs, virtual assets sold through Web3.
“We saw it only [as a way to] maintain the culture, but also succeed [in the future],” said Muhammad Neil El Himam, deputy of Indonesia’s Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy.
This isn’t the first time artifacts have been converted into NFTs. The famous Uffizi Gallery in Florence sold an NFT in Doni Tondo by Michelango; while the Shanghai Museum transforms some pieces of its collection into NFT. However, this is the first time that a country has taken the step of preserving its history and, in the long term, putting its cultural heritage on the Web3.
Jro Mangku I Wayan Sudiarta is one of the last blacksmiths in Bali to make temple bells by hand (Quantum Temple)
Bali closed its doors to foreign tourists in March 2020 when the pandemic hit, and opened just seven months later. With 80% of its economy dependent on tourism, the island has been hit hard. Quantum Temple founder Linda Adami, who lived in Bali for seven months of the pandemic, saw firsthand the devastating effect the lack of tourists was having on the local economy. One in 3 people in Bali has lost their job, according to the Australian-Indonesian research team.
Adami traveled around the island and discovered the paintings of other artisans, many of whom had to go through fishing or farming to help feed their families. While there, American virtual artist Beeple sold an NFT for $69 million at Christie’s. With blockchain training, Adami was immediately able to see how Web3 can connect Bali artisans with a new audience and give them a way to earn a regenerative income. By providing their paintings as NFT, artists will also get a percentage of any secondary sales.
Adami met with local communities and the tourist workplace and raised the concept of local artisans creating an NFT collection. To ensure some authenticity, he also invited anthropologist Steve Lansing to organize the work. Lansing, who worked on Bali’s UNESCO nomination for its rice terraces. , believes that this task of sustainable tourism can have more impact on the protection of Bali’s heritage than the success of UNESCO’s candidacy.
“What this blockchain allocation does is provide a source of profit and recognition. It’s glorious and absent from UNESCO’s agenda,” Lansing said.
NFTs will connect artisans with a new audience and enable them to earn a regenerative revenue stream (Credit: Quantum Temple)
NFT Paths to Alangö come with cultural heritage NFTs, which capture intangible works such as dances; NFT of cultural artifacts, which come with tangible works such as the temple bell; and Cultural Experiences NFT, which gives the NFT owner a full pass to real-life cultural reports filled with rituals and traditions. According to NFT, each will be sold alone or in large quantities, but in limited edition.
Travelers who purchase the NFT will be able to watch the party in the NFT video before heading there in real life, and will also be able to connect with the villagers before they arrive. Indonesia will be able to restrict the number of tourists visiting small villages, as NFTs are sold in restricted quantities, so the fun will help the community rather than disturb it. And if that’s not enough, the NFT will also provide a souvenir when the er returns home.
“We inspire conscious and cultural preservation and hope that those NFTs can link the future er to local communities before they come to Indonesia,” Haim said.
To ensure the authenticity of NFT, rituals can be filmed when the Balinese calendar allows. One of these NFTs is Galungan, a festival that falls in the 11th week of the uku calendar when the spirits of the ancestors return home. Adami and the crew traveled to the nineteenth-century village of Penglipuran in southern Bali to film villagers participating in the rite that dates back to the time of the Majapahit Empire (1293-1527). The NFT will give its new owner a glimpse of this 10-day festival of prayers, feasts and offerings through NFT video, and then with a genuine experience. The closest other travelers can get to this festival in real life is to see the 10m curved bamboo poles adorned with offerings that are used to mark the front for home, as they won’t have access to the locals who can guide them.
Galungan is a 10-day event celebrating the spirits of returning ancestors (Quantum Temple)
“It’s not a movie set by way, it’s a process of preservation and archiving, so we need to show the essence of those traditions as if you were there,” Adami said.
While NFTs certainly took a hit due to the decline of cryptocurrencies in 2022, help hasn’t fallen short on stellar sales that year. NFT CyptoPunk art #5588 sold for $23. 7 million. Indonesia hopes to have at least a small portion of the giant sum of money that NFTs attract. Artists in the Paths to Alangö project will get 40% of the initial sale and 4. 5% of the long-term secondary sales. Part of the initial sale will also go to a social effect fund for sustainable projects in Indonesia.
The first sale, which took place on March 22, 2023, showed positive symptoms for the initiative, with the NFT of a Balinese dance sale for 53. 59 eth ($96,989. 86). Royal Topeng NFT choreographer I Made Bandem was impressed with the response. only he was thrilled with the amount raised, but his purpose for this NFT is to attract the next generation of classical dancers. Not only will the owner of the NFT own this video, but they will be able to watch I Made Bandem perform the dance. In Bali
Meanwhile, Generation Z Kadek dancers Dwi Martini and Ni Kadek Virna Erikayani, who led a 1920s dance called Cendrawasih (Birds of Paradise), are the NFT to raise funds for The Art House in Sebali Village, which preserves and develops classical Balinese culture. The dancers, who were filmed on one of the country’s black volcanic beaches and on Bali’s UNESCO-listed Tegalalang Rice Terrace, are well aware that if they don’t perform, they may be one of the few who specialize in this. Classical dance in the future.
Dwi, a student from Ubud, said: “We have considerations on this. But other people will see this NFT, and it will motivate the younger generation [which can be a prosperous way of life].
Kadek Dwi Martini and Ni Kadek Virna Erikayani hope their NFT motivates dancers (Quantum Temple)
The Alangö Ways must show that those ancient traditions can still provide income. Sudiarta saw that other blacksmiths found new occupations because their remuneration was insufficient. Now, not only will artisans be taken to more potential buyers, but every NFT sold is a commission. , will have the security of receiving the cash to make the art before starting. This elevates artistic talent, Adami said, because the concern that they will end up with stocks means that some artisans tend to create inferior items.
Lansing said this artistic point wants to be recognized. “It elevates their creations to anything that requires a preservative,” Lansing said. “It’s not just craftsmanship, it’s classical arts. “
While Quantum Temple plans to expand to Peru and Panama in 2023, sustainable NFT reporting for Indonesia will also increase. “It will be like a portal, but a conscientiously structured mode of access,” Lansing said. because it is manual and guided. “
While some of the NFTs in the collection have already been auctioned and others have yet to be published, the NFTs are already helping to renew the spirit of the villagers who participate in them. When the assignment was gently presented in February 2023 at the 10th century Pura Tirta Empul Water Temple in Bali, locals performed dances within its historic walls. Adani said Indonesians applying for the task can see it giving the network a boost.
“Everyone said I was looking to bring the performing arts back to the temple on a more recurring basis, because it brought the net closer together in combination and made the temple so alive,” Adani said.
Future of Travel is a BBC travel series that explores what the global outlook will look like for travellers in the years to come and meet others living on the frontlines of change.
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