David J Booth MBE, Founder and Trustee
A native of north-west England, David chose Indonesia as his adopted home in 1989. In 1998, he decided to give something back by using his diverse experience in civil engineering, marketing, teaching and writing to help the most impoverished regions in Bali on a path towards sustainable social and economic development, prioritising children’s health, education and nutrition. Since founding the East Bali Poverty Project in 1998, his foundation has educated over 400 children, 96 of which had graduated primary school by July 2005. Safe water and community health projects, prioritising mothers and children, have benefited over 2,000 families and the whole region now looks forward to a brighter future led by their newly empowered children. David’s MBE award in 2004 was in recognition of his “Services to Sustainable Rural Development in East Bali, Indonesia”.
Dr Gede Indraguna Pinatih, volunteer health and nutrition advisor and Secretary of the Board of Yayasan Ekoturin
Dr Indraguna, is a qualified general practitioner and nutrition specialist, with a MSc in Human Nutrition from the London University School of Hygiene. He joined EBPP in 1999 after being recommended by UNICEF as the most qualified specialist to assist with the design and implementation of our successful IDD programme. His assistance and commitment was also vital in eliminating vitamin A deficiency, and in the evaluation of the causes for all the basic sicknesses prevalent in Desa Ban. He continues to advise on and treat all health related problems which cannot be solved by local health care providers, and regularly assesses the quality of our children’s school meal menus and the children’s nutrition status.
Komang Kurniawan, Team Leader of all EBPP field programmes
Komang, a skilled leader and communicator, has worked with David from the very beginning, initiating culturally sensitive communication with the communities of all the 19 remote hamlets developing a partnership of mutual trust with the community leaders and residents.
As Team Leader, Komang has coordinated every activity in the field which comprises over 30 projects in education, public health, nutrition, hygiene, safe water supply, organic vegetable farming development, goat breeding, infrastructure and more. He leads a team of over 40 staff in the field. He was also the initiator of our now regular Independence Day celebrations.
I Nengah Ardika Adinata, Assistant Team Leader and coordinator for (a) Vetiver grass development to facilitate organic farming programmes and land erosion control and (b) water resources development for over 1,300 families.
Ardika, a native of Desa Ban, joined David as a volunteer in June 1998, after graduating senior high school, hoping to build a better future for his village. After coordinating our successful IDD programme, he joined the vetiver and water teams. He has since become an expert in vetiver grass development and the design of appropriate technology techniques for providing safe water. He was joint recipient with David Booth of a 1st Prize award from the International Vetiver Network for his successful introduction of vetiver to the communities of Desa Ban and throughout Bali. His design and development work for the village’s water resources was crucial to its success.
Tri Budiyono, Senior Office Administrator, Data Analyst and Supervisor of UNICEF sponsored micronutrient deficiency programmes since 2001.
Tri, a native of Solo in Java, joined David as a volunteer in July 1998 after graduating Udayana University in Bali. In 1998, Tri took charge of interviewing 1,056 families in the Desa Ban community, to better know their situation, and compiled detailed analysis of the data, often entailing work until 2.00am. His commitment hasn’t wavered since.
Since 1999, he has been the mainstay of all office administration, computer development and training of all EBPP staff. Tri is also responsible for our accounting department. He inspires confidence in donors and the whole Yayasan Board of Directors.
Ms Rosmara Dewi, Senior Coordinator for Integrated Education and Organic Farming programmes.
Ros joined the foundation in 2001, providing her expertise as a primary school teacher and assisting in the planning of our organic farming development programme. She has since had fantastic results as the senior coordinator of all our education programmes, tirelessly developing a much improved curricula, and preparing the children to take their government exams, with 53 children graduating primary school in 2003/2004 and 44 in 2005. She has lead the evolution of the organic farming programme beyond the schools, and into the children’s homes. She has also developed the art programme, the success of which can be seen in the Educational Art Book, and has introduced the children to Balinese dance.
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