The Rice People Saving The World
Fri Apr 17 2020 18:06:00 GMT+0800 (Malaysia Time)
Greetings from lock-down in Bali day 22
How are you doing?
Last week I was telling you about the bird that followed me. And also added to my review of webshop systems that can help you do drop-shipping. You can read about it here.
Mostly I fill my day by working in the mornings, the afternoons I go for a (social distancing / mask on) brisk walk along the beach nearby. Evenings (when Europe is awake) I interact with the AW teams. But each afternoon as I walk I literally see the same few faces ,we nod to each other but rarely speak. It's really beautiful, maybe because the air is cleaner, maybe because it is so quiet. To the left is a view across to the volcano, sleepy and exotic. Mount Agung the locals believe to be a sacred mountain, the centre of the universes home to Gods, there is a temple on the banks of the volcano, Bali's most sacred, parts of which date back 2000 years.
The last time people wore masks in Bali. Only in May 2019 it was erupting and delaying flights and a real concern that a major eruption could bring Bali to a halt. I was here at the time and experienced more than one earthquake.
It was a huge worry in 2019, many people cancelled holidays, parts of the island were closed to visitors for safety and the people of Bali prayed and held continuous ceremonies until eventually, the volcano calmed down. Did it just calm down, or did the ceremonies and prayers to the gods do the trick? Rationally of course it calmed down, but spiritually maybe it is possible to draw (simultaneously) a different conclusion. At that time, tourism was badly effected, ironically people were issued with face masks to protect them from breathing in ash-laden air and Agung anxiety created a heightened spiritual awareness.
Yesterday afternoon I passed a ceremony happening at a temple near the beach, I didn't take pictures because I realised it was a cremation ceremony. A kiln in the shape of a dragon was spewing smoke from it's nose, as people prayed toward mount Agung. They wore masks and social distanced, but I know the event was probably illegal. People are scared - not just here but the world over. I noticed some offerings I had not seen before..
The drum was heard.
There is a drum in a temple at Puri Klungkung, very rarely it sounds by itself, once in 1963 just before the volcano had a major eruption, once in 2002 before the Bali bombing.. only certain holy men across the island can hear it. On the eve of the Silent Day called Nyepi 25th March, the bell was heard again. As a result of this, the holy men of Bali asked people to make a special devotion and make a nasi wong-wongan. It's a figure made of rice - nasi is Indonesian for rice and wong-wonga means people.
Rice People to protect the island and the world from the virus.
Meanwhile.. back in the UK.
Tomas and Katka, continue to keep AW on track, we are still shipping orders, our hero's working safely working hard. Many of our customers have an on-line presence and are doing well despite the lock-down. So our drop-shipping department is busy.
We are working like crazy to full-fill the orders, this week we will increase shifts and put more people on drop-shipping.
Be unique..
Also, we are trying to make specific bundles of products just for Drop-shipping. For example an Oil Burner, a Selection of Essential Oil and 6 nightlights. The advantages of bundles are threefold.. 1. Convenience for your customer, one click, don't need to think too hard. 2. A higher value deal, (more £'s per sale) meaning it's maybe possible to offer free shipping (this boosts sales every time) and.. 3. Price comparisons are harder to make, so you don't need to worry about been undercut by Amazon. Your unique combination is unique right? Remember at AW we only sell B2B - we don't list on Ebay or Amazon or run our own retail websites, so you can be sure not to run into unfair competition.
So - do you have any ideas? Ideas for bundles that we could set up for you.. product pictures ready etc. Do let me know..
Take care, stay safe, wash your hands, talk to someone.
Until next week.
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