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Nengah Widyanata

"I was born in Bali in 1971. If you asked my friends what I'm like, they might tell you I'm a hard-working, reliable and honest person.

"I started my career as a sailor in a cruise where I also began learning English. It was hard at first, but then I got used to it.

"When I had enough savings, I decided to work for myself, as I was inspired by people in my neighborhood who became successful. I met a good woman from East Java and she has helped me a lot in setting up a workshop in our home. We are blessed by our two children and I hope that I can provide them with a good future and good education.

"I found out that God has given us his blessings in nature, a never-ending source of materials and inspiration. One of these blessings is the bamboo tree. My best friend taught me how to make baskets, and learning this has brought me to the man I am today. I further taught the members of my family. We make such a very good team. Every day we learn more and discover new ideas for being more creative in weaving bamboo into beautiful baskets of good quality.

"I use local bamboo. I need to know exactly the right age of bamboo to cut it and dry it in the sun. We use non-toxic colors and work in the traditional dye process known as batik.

"It took a lot of hard work for me to produce our designs as well as market them. However, it is very important to preserve nature and I have done my best in Bali by preserving bamboo.

"Thanks to God, our efforts have done well and I really appreciate what God has given to me."