Bali needs your help. And Dean Keddell – restauranteur, owner, and executive chef at two of Bali’s most-well-regarded eateries – Ginger Moon Canteen and Jacksons Lily’s – needs assistance to realize his dream of helping his many friends and neighbors navigate through the most challenging period in the Island’s history.
Although originally from New Zealand, Dean has made Bali his home. With more than 30 years of working globally in hospitality positions ranging from executive chef to general manager, Keddell is now “at home” in Bali where he created Ginger Moon- a modern Asian canteen focussing strongly on Balinese and pan-Indonesia cuisine, and Jackson Lily’s that uses shared tables to celebrate Asia home cooking and togetherness.
Dean Keddell feels deeply moved witnessing the trials and tribulations the current global pandemic has wreaked on the Island of Bali. Tourism numbers have dropped in an unprecedented manner, far worse than the business downturns of years past caused by earthquakes, political unrests, volcanic ash, bird flu, and even terrorist attacks. In every instance in the past, Bali has managed to bounce back and re-establish its fortunes. The current crisis, however, has halted the flow of international tourists for more than eight months. When it will end and when Bali can once again rebuild its tourism industry remains anyone’s guess.
Surveying his business situation, the large group of breadwinners he once employed, and the eerie emptiness and stillness of the once-thriving Seminyak-Kuta business corridor – Dean is emotionally shaken by Bali’s current condition. Commenting: “Yet again, Bali finds itself in a crisis. This pandemic has reaped havoc amongst families and communities, as well as costing the economy billions of dollars.”
No tourists mean few businesses are open, and there is no work for most of the population. That, in turn, means enormous financial stress for most families. While Dean normally employs 130 staff over his two venues, he says he has now had to cut back to a core group of 50. Without clientele, his restaurants remain closed, making it difficult to bolster his staff and their families’ well-being and morale.
“I found myself sitting amongst the chaos, wondering what I could do,” he said. “So I thought I would make my staff active by providing a project in which we could all get involved. We began collecting favorite family recipes that have been handed down through the generations of their families, expanding this to ask local warung cooks for their recipes, too.”
Determined to raise a sufficient amount of money to make an appreciable difference in the current daily economic struggle of the people of Bali, Dean Keddel has launched a bold initiative to raise US$100,000 for five Bali-based charities noted for their ability to make a positive impact on the Island.
“We are now producing a beautiful, large, hardcover cookbook, Our Bali Your Bali (Bali Kita Bali Kamu), which will incorporate lots of colorful imagery, family and community stories, as well as local recipes and a collection from both my restaurant kitchens,” he said.
Bali Needs Our Help
The cookbook is self-funding achieved by asking people to pre-order books. The campaign is called “Bali Needs Our Help,” and Dean is keen to ask past visitors to the Island for their support by purchasing one of the books.
The project aims to raise over $100,000 to go to five local charities badly hit by Bali’s economic downturn. The crowd-funder, scheduled to end just before Christmas, and the sale of books is progressing rapidly.
The five charities that will receive funding from the project and their online links:
1. Bali Children’s Foundation – helping thousands of local children complete school and find employment.
2. Scholars of Sustenance – combatting the effects of COVID-19 by providing nutrition to those in need.
3. Friends of the National Parks Foundation – working to protect wildlife and their habitats while supporting local communities.
4. East Bali Poverty Project – helping people to help themselves.
5. Bali Wise by ROLE Foundation – empowering marginalized women through education as a means to develop sustainable communities.
The price of a book starts from AU75.00, depending on the shipment destination. Corporate sponsors will have their company’s name listed on a special sponsors’ page in the final edition.
Facebook Page for Our Bali Your Bali
Fund Raising Page to Order an Advance copy of “Our Bali Your Bali”
Contact Dean Keddell by Email .
Contact Dean Keddell on WhatsApp: +62 813 3724 0760
