In January I walked down a main street in the heart of Ubud wearing a mask. Ubud is located in the northeast of Denpasar, the capital city of Bali. It’s famous for its terraced rice fields, art market and yoga classes. It’s not yet a common thing to wear a mask. I couldn’t see anyone else wearing one. But that would soon change.

In early March Indonesia announced its first case of Covid-19. Although Bali is a thousand kilometres from Jakarta, almost all the banjar on the island immediately closed off access and went into lockdown. A banjar is usually described as a ward or hamlet, with its connotations of a ‘communal house’. It’s the lowest level of official decision-making, run by the community through councils of all households. It is governed by adat—local customs and traditions—as the basis of the law and regulatory practices. There is an ethos of cooperation. As a site of mutual help, the banjar is the primary means for dealing with issues relating to common interest. Bali is the only province in Indonesia that is permitted to have customary institutions involved in its system of governance.

• Tags: Febriana Firdaus, Indonesia, Issue 20