Visitors curiously inspected the traditional house. The floor was made of a mixture of clay and rice husks, while the lower part of the outer wall was covered with dried cow dung. The upper part was constructed of plaited bamboo sheets topped with a dried grass roof.

Most of the houses in Sade, a four-hectare village inhabited by the indigenous Sasak people in Central Lombok, share similar features. The village has a population of around 700 people, mostly working as farmers and weavers.

In recent years, Sade has grown into a popular tourist destination as a growing number of visitors wish to see first-hand the unique culture of the people who adhere to Wektu Telu, a syncretic form of Islam, Hinduism and animism.

The steady stream of visitors, which can amount to hundreds of people per day, has opened up a new job opportunity for local people. Now, some of them have left the rice fields to offer their services as guides to the visitors.

“Proficiency in the English language used to be the primary obstacle for the Sade people wanting to work as guides. Nowadays, however, language and history training is held each month and the number of locals becoming tour guides has increased,” one tour guide, Mahmud, said.

Tourism has also brought buyers for locally made handicrafts and woven cloth. Most of Sade’s women are accomplished weavers. This is due to the fact that girls are prohibited from getting married before they master the skill of weaving.

It is a two-hour drive to reach Sade from Lombok’s capital of Mataram. Visitors are advised to rent a motorbike or car because public transportation is scarce. Sade lies just 30 minutes’ drive from the beautiful white-sand Kute beach.

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