“For Bali”: a barbershop that wrote down its duty to its island

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Bali Barber runs two shops on the island, one in Seminyak on Jl. Raya Taman and one in Sanur on Jl. Danau Tamblingan. On their website, alongside the usual pages about cuts and shaves, there is one called “For Bali”. It is short, and it says something we think every barbershop should be able to say.

Giving back to the island

The page sets out a simple position: as a small business in Bali, they believe their duty is to give back to the island and the community that has given them so many opportunities. The photographs beneath it show their team out in the community, working with local charities and yayasan, the Indonesian foundations that do much of the front-line social work on the island. Their own description is that they are getting back on the road to give back with their skills and their donations.

Then comes the part we like most. It is an open invitation. If there is a community project they can help with, they ask people to get in touch. Not a list of causes they have already chosen, but a standing offer to the community to tell them where a barber would be useful.

Why this matters

World Barber Day has never prescribed how a shop should take part. There is no set plan, only the ethos: use your skills as a force for good, in the way that fits your shop and your community. Bali Barber’s page is that ethos written down by a business that got there on its own. Skills, time and money, offered to whoever on the island needs them.

That is what a barber can be. A small business that treats the place it trades in as something to look after, not just somewhere to be.

On September 16th, barbers everywhere use their skills as a force for good, each in their own way. Follow Bali Barber at @balibarber, and if you run a shop, register it for World Barber Day.

Source: balibarber.com/community.