Close to the foot of the majestic and still active Mt Agung, Dukuh Sibetan villagers are only too aware of their precarious existence. When the volcano erupted in 1963, sand and rocks blanketed the village farmlands, making a return to normal agriculture impossible. One of the few crops that were able to survive in these new conditions, however, was salak- the snake fruit, already present in the area for hundreds of years.

On the east coast of Bali, surrounded by high mountains, lies an ancient fortress village called Tenganan. Dating back to at least the 11^th century, Tenganan preserves certain ways life lost to the rest of Bali. It is regarded by the Balinese as a ‘senior’ village.