Dekgun

I Made Gunarta, also known as Dekgun, has been a fundamental component of the BaliSpirit Festival’s vision to connect with the community. Kadek comes from a long lineage of socially minded Balinese; his great-grand father, the head of The Sacred Monkey Forest restoration project in the early 70’s, and his mother, a school principal for over 30 years, are just two of his role models. Starting in 2010 Kadek took revitalization of the popular Monkey Forest into his own hands and launched a reforestation project in the forest, planting hundreds of trees and creating a safer and leafier home for the indigenous long-tailed macaque monkeys of the forest, whom the Balinese regard as sacred. The Monkey Forest is now adding a wood seated amphitheater, which Kadek plans to utilize as a performance space for traditional Balinese arts in the future. Kadek is the founder of Yayasan Kryasta Guna, a non-for-profit arts and culture organization with a mission to inspire local youth in Ubud to invest in and learn about their own traditions—and aspire to perform in the Monkey Forest Amphitheater one day.

In addition to community projects, Kadek recently created an amazing organic farm and retreat sanctuary located in Payangan Ubud.

For more information, see:

www.yogisgardenbali.com