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number of villagers from remote areas in Bangli and Buleleng regencies gathered on Friday in the dining room of the Maha Bhoga Marga (MBM) Foundation in Kapal, Badung.

They looked tired after traveling two to three hours from home. Some of them sipped a cup of coffee while others ate banana fritters served by MBM, which was founded by the Bali Christian Church (GKPB).

Among the crowd enjoying the breakfast was an HIV-positive mother and her child. They are members of a group assisted by the foundation.

They were gathered there for a discussion on women’s health and the livestock business run by villagers in the two regencies.

I Made Sumaba, a participant from Trunyan, Bangli, joined fellow villagers to discuss how to process livestock waste into biogas.

“I have been running a livestock business with other villagers in Trunyan for two years,” Sumaba said.

He started with three head of cattle that he bought on a credit and profit-sharing system with the foundation. After the cattle bred, he bought two more cows on his own.

The 32-year-old man now has five head of cattle and an Arabica coffee plantation that he harvests once a year.

Sumaba started running his small business after being inspired by the success of his friends in the village.

“I joined their meetings and was interested. Now I can get free gas by processing the cattle waste,” he said enthusiastically.

Sumaba and other cattle breeders installed a processor to convert the waste into biogas.

“We no longer need to gather firewood. All we have to do now is open the valve on the gas pipe,” he added.

He was grateful to have the MBM foundation motivate him to develop his cattle and coffee plantation business.

Along with other villagers, he also gained knowledge on mothers’ and children’s health from the regular discussion and group meetings. The villagers, who are Hindu adherents, do not feel awkward mingling with MBM caretakers, who are mostly Christian priests.

“More than 90 percent of the villagers we assist are Hindus, and others are Muslims and Christians,” said MBM secretary Luh Deborah Murthy.

MBM has provided assistance to 128 groups with a combined membership of 1,958 people from many areas in Bali, including the western, eastern and northern parts of the island. Most of them are groups of livestock breeders and women who own small businesses.

“We aim to improve poor people’s livelihood and give them access to healthcare regardless of religion or ethnicity. We don’t display Christian paraphernalia to make them feel at ease,” Deborah said, adding that the words MBM literally mean noble way to get food.

She said poverty in Bali would continue to exist as long as the poverty eradication programs failed to involve the targeted people in the first place.

As an example, she said one villager had received assistance from the Bali administration under the so-called “house renovation” program for the poor but ended up dissatisfied with the assistance because the house had no ventilation.

“This is not effective, while poverty continues to increase and many problems arise, including HIV that claims the lives of mothers and children.”

“We’ve found that HIV has infected common people, not only high-risk groups,” she added.

The foundation provides health services and educational sessions to all members of these groups.

The Bali administration is intensifying efforts to eradicate poverty, an embarrassing social problem for an island known for its lucrative, multi-billion dollar tourist industry. The administration’s programs include house renovation, health insurance and giving rice to the poor.

Data from the Central Statistics Agency shows that the number of poor people on the island as of March this year reached 174,000, 84,000 of whom live in urban areas.