ABSTRACT
This chapter describes two small Indonesian systems, the village-controlled system found in Bima, and the famous subaks of Bali. In Bima, as in most of Indonesia, villages play a major role in determining social relations. In Bima, both the court system and higher levels of government support settlement of disputes and control of local affairs by village government. The Rasa irrigation management system is a smoothly functioning system in which the necessary coordination among farmers is brought about through the use of the village government as the coordinating organization. Maintenance activities, including channel cleaning and repair of structures, are carried out by the pekaseh under the orders of the subak officers. The subaks’ ability to directly regulate planting schedules and even choose crops gives them power to use water in a much more efficient manner than Rasa farmers use water.
