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Kusamba, center of traditional fish processing

• 13 Juli 2020
• Leisure
• Klungkung

Klungkung, NetizenBali.com - Bali a myriad of natural, cultural and social attractions and, during the busy holiday season, most domestic and foreign tourists opt to spend their year-end holidays in the southem part of the island.

However, if you have the chance to take a trip to the small coastal village of Kusamba, sandwiched between Klungkung and Karangasem in east Bali, you could find a different vacation experience.

Kusamba is strategically located on the mainland for Nusa Penida islets and the village is home to a fish market and fish processing site for local fishermen, who bring in their catches every day.

Some of the catch is sold to places as far away as Badung and Denpasar, about 50 to 60 kilometers away, so to prevent the fresh fish from spoiling, it is either frozen or processed the traditional way by salting or smoking.

It is mostly the women who process the fish, separating different species so they can be chilled or frozen for transport to traditional markets in Denpasar and Badung.

Meanwhile, other women dry the fish by covering them in large amounts of salt. This process is called "pemindangan" in the Balinese language and "ikan pindang" is salted fish. Due to its tender meat and firm texture, tuna fillets weighing between 200 and 500 grams are usually selected for salting.

Separately, around 20 kilograms of tuna fish is smoked in large pans over wood fires. Every kiosk in Kusamba village produces at least 300 baskets of tuna. The 250-gram pindang tuna is sold at Rp 8,000 (58 US cents), while smoked tuna is sold at Rp 16,000. The vibrant life of local fishermen and the dedicated women of Kusamba village is flourishing and their local economy is thriving thanks to their tireless hard work. [Source: Bali Buzz]