A new building stands in Cepaka Village. The walls still smell fresh, the floors barely used. But before a single desk gets claimed or the first cup of coffee gets poured, Bali has one step nobody skips: the melaspas ceremony.
That’s exactly what happened at Kimnara Space, a coworking space and café born from a partnership between Coco Development and COCO Social Fund. Before opening its doors, the building went through a traditional purification ceremony, attended by representatives from Cepaka Village, Polsek Kediri, foundation members, and Coco Development’s leadership. The event also stands as a real example of Balinese cultural preservation and CSR programs in Bali moving together in the same moment.
What Is Kimnara Space?
Kimnara Space was conceived as both a shared workspace and café, a joint effort between Coco Development and COCO Social Fund. The concept ties together two needs that usually run separately: a comfortable place to work, and an open community space for the surrounding neighborhood.
The name “Kimnara” comes from mythology — a half-human, half-bird figure that across several Asian traditions represents harmony, beauty, and closeness to nature. That philosophy lines up with COCO Social Fund’s broader mission: building spaces that don’t stand apart from the environment and community around them.
Unlike most purely commercial coworking spaces, Kimnara Space has a direct thread back to the foundation’s programs. Part of its operating proceeds are directed toward supporting the social and environmental work already running in Cepaka Village.
Understanding Melaspas, a Ritual You Don’t Skip
For anyone unfamiliar with Balinese culture, melaspas might sound unfamiliar. But for the island’s Hindu community, this ceremony is close to a non-negotiable step before any building gets used.
The word “melaspas” comes from two syllables: mlas, meaning separate, and pas, meaning fitting or matched. Together they describe a building made from different elements — wood, stone, earth — brought together into something proper and harmonious to inhabit.
It’s not just ceremonial formality. Melaspas is believed to spiritually cleanse a building — a kind of energy purification — before the space fills with daily human activity. Homes, offices, shops, even resorts and coworking spaces owned by foreigners in Bali regularly go through this process, proof the tradition stays alive rather than fading into folklore.
Why Would a Coworking Space Need Melaspas?
Here’s the interesting part. Kimnara Space isn’t a temple or a family home — it’s a modern workspace with fast wifi and collaborative desks. But it still sits on Balinese soil, and that alone was reason enough for COCO Social Fund and Coco Development to honor local custom.
The decision to hold melaspas for Kimnara Space signals something commercial property development often skips: a willingness to adapt to local values instead of simply building and opening for business. For Cepaka villagers, a new building that respects their tradition reads very differently than an investment that arrives without any cultural courtesy at all.
Who Showed Up
The blessing of Kimnara Space through melaspas wasn’t a closed-door affair. Several parties attended, reflecting how the project touches different layers of the community — from village government to local law enforcement.
- Representatives from Cepaka Village, the local government body with direct knowledge of the area where Kimnara Space now stands.
- Polsek Kediri, present as both a security gesture and a mark of respect for the traditional ceremony taking place within its jurisdiction.
- COCO Social Fund members, who have long run community empowerment work in Cepaka Village through various environmental and social initiatives.
- Coco Development’s leadership and secretary, representing the developer that physically built Kimnara Space.
That kind of cross-sector turnout isn’t a small detail. It shows a property project, however modest in scale, can become a meeting point for village government, police, a social foundation, and a private developer — all in the same place at the same time.
Melaspas as a Different Kind of CSR
Most CSR programs in Bali get associated with food aid distribution or tree planting. The melaspas ceremony at Kimnara Space offers a different approach: treating cultural respect itself as a form of corporate social responsibility.
That’s worth noting for any company or partner exploring how to engage in Bali. CSR doesn’t have to mean cash donations. Sometimes it’s as simple — and as meaningful — as setting aside time and budget to run a local tradition before the business side even starts.
For COCO Social Fund, this move stays consistent with how they’ve approached other programs. The foundation is known for running educational activities for children in Bali and community empowerment work in Cepaka Village. Melaspas Kimnara Space adds one more example that Balinese cultural preservation runs through their work, not as an afterthought to environmental programs but as part of the same commitment.
Read also: THE SWEEP Bali: How 206.25 Kg of Canggu Plastic Became Alternative Fuel
A Workspace Grown From Community
Once the ceremony wrapped up, Kimnara Space was ready to welcome its first users. But the concept doesn’t stop at being an ordinary workspace. Its location in Cepaka Village opens the door to becoming a meeting point between freelancers, small business owners, and villagers looking to learn something new.
A few directions this could take:
- A collaboration space for remote workers and local business owners who need a proper workspace without heading into the city.
- A community gathering point, in step with the Bali environmental and cultural community that COCO Social Fund has already built through earlier programs.
- Educational tourism potential, given its proximity to Cepaka Learning Center, where plastic waste processing and environmental education already take place.
The mix of café, workspace, and closeness to the foundation’s programs gives Kimnara Space a character an ordinary coworking space can’t easily copy.
Why This Moment Matters
Plenty of new property projects open with ribbon-cutting and a press release. Kimnara Space chose a different path — prayer, offerings, and traditional blessing before any business talk began.
That choice wasn’t arbitrary. It reinforces COCO Social Fund’s position as a social foundation in Bali that understands community building can’t be separated from respecting local culture. Having Cepaka Village, Polsek Kediri, and Coco Development’s leadership all present at the same ceremony shows this project carries the blessing of many parties, not a decision made behind closed doors.
Closing Thoughts: One Building, Many Meanings
Melaspas Kimnara Space isn’t just an opening ceremony for a new coworking space. It’s a reminder that in Bali, business and spiritual life move together — even for something as modern as a shared workspace and café.
Going forward, Kimnara Space has room to become more than a spot for coffee and laptops. Built on the partnership between Coco Development and COCO Social Fund, this space could grow into a new hub for Balinese cultural preservation alongside community empowerment in Cepaka Village — the two threads that have shaped the foundation’s work all along.
