Collaboration Key to Success of Villages

KOMPAS/KORNELIS KEWA AMA

A community reading park built by Astra at Sonraen Elementary School, Kupang regency, East Nusa Tenggara, as seen on Sunday, Aug. 5, 2018. Children learn to read in the library and to become computer literature using laptops provided by Astra. Thousands of books of various types and titles are available in the library.

YOGYAKARTA, KOMPAS – Amid stories of villages stagnating or lagging behind, we also hear tales of villages successfully using their village funds to achieve success. Collaboration with stakeholders and the active involvement of villagers as project planners and implementers are key.

Pujon Kidul village is a prime example of this. The village, located in Pujon district, Malang regency, East Java, used to be obscure. These days, it is a popular travel destination known for its dishes, agrotourism and unique selfie spots. The village welcomes around 500 visitors on weekdays and over 3,000 on weekends.

Its village-owned enterprise (BUMDes) manages six businesses. In 2017, locals established Kafe Sawah (Paddy Field Café) with ample parking space on 8,500 square meters of village land. The café has 80 local workers.

In one year, the café generates Rp 75 million (US$5,030.29) for the village. The dozens of food stalls in its vicinity, their presence of which is regulated in a village regulation, also generate income. “Our village blooms as many parties are involved, including [in] funding,” Pujon Kidul village head Udi Hartoko said.

Funding for tourism development is obtained from many sources, including village funds. In 2017, of the Rp 839 million the village received, Rp 150 million was used to develop Kafe Sawah.

In Pendung Talang Genting village in Danau Kerinci district, Kerinci regency, Jambi, local youths transformed a local swamp into the Taman Kolam Pertiwi pond. In the past two years, villagers used village funds to transform the swamp and its overgrown bushes into a floral park with rides and activities that include cable cycling, flying fox and pedal boats.

The BUMDes is involved in ensuring the professional management of tourism village initiatives. “Some 10 percent of villagers work in these initiatives,” BUMDes head Abdul Basit said. Now, the workers are paid Rp 1.5 million a month.

Real training

Behind the blossoming of local villages, there is real and sustainable training and guidance from the government, corporates, universities or non-governmental organizations. These efforts are adjusted to the villages’ needs.

Nevertheless, joint research by Kompas and Gadjah Mada University’s community service directorate (DPkM UGM) on development projects in 100 villages found that not all villages showcase collaborative efforts to reach independence.

The research, for instance, found there was minimal involvement of stakeholders, including employees, investors, governments and locals.

The private sector’s involvement in collaborating in village priority programs (Prukades) is also minimal. “This is despite its important role in ensuring that local businesses create good-quality products and operate efficiently, ethically and with social responsibility so that they can get a sustainable profit,” Global Gotong Royong Tetrapreneur expert staff member from UGM, Rika Fatimah PL, said.

Guidance is absolutely necessary, especially in relation to a village fund accountability report, as it involves state money.

For instance, of the 74,957 villages that received village funds in 2015, some have village heads who are only elementary school and middle school graduates. They are required to create detailed plans for development projects.

“Even we sometimes make mistakes if we are not experienced,” Villages, Disadvantaged Regions and Transmigration Minister Eko Putro Sandjojo told Kompas.

Therefore, Eko said, the ministry collaborated with universities to provide training and guidance for villages. “We have 100 universities in the Pertides [Universities for Villages],” he said.

Every year, these universities hold thematic compulsory community work (KKN) for their students to help local villages, including in resolving administrative issues and empowering locals. “We shifted from a developmental approach to an empowerment approach in 2006,” UGM rector Panut Mulyono said. Currently, UGM has 8,000 students working in around 300 villages in 34 provinces across Indonesia.

Private sector’s role

Collaboration with the private sector can be found in Sonraen village, South Amarasi district, Kupang regency, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT). Now, SDN Sonraen state elementary school has been renovated and modernized. It is equipped with modern learning facilities, much like in schools in cities.

Diversified conglomerate PT Astra International Tbk is involved in the project. The company emphasizes character, environment, creativity and health. Sustainability is achieved by prioritizing local wisdom and involving locals.

A library is now available at a corner in SDN Sonraen. A ceramic wash basin is located by the classroom door. A 70-meter bored well is in the schoolyard.

There are 15 weaving tools in a room where students can learn weaving techniques. There is a meeting hall with chairs, a podium and a seating capacity of 175 people.

Astra’s Michael D. Ruslim Education Foundation chair, Herawati Prasetyo, said that skilled teachers were always involved in all student activities (Kompas, 10/5/2018).

Separately, UGM sociologist Arie Sujito said that the involvement of many parties in village empowerment initiatives would be fine as long as the programs remained people-centered. “For instance, if a company wants to be involved, it cannot build its own program. It must refer to the village’s plans,” he said.

Law No. 6/2014 on villages puts villagers as the subject of development efforts. As subjects, villagers have the authority to map out their problems, plan their development programs and have control over program implementation.

As Eko said, there are many success stories in villages, such as the construction of a total of 158,000 kilometers of village roads since the village fund program was launched. However, amid these success stories that serve as international examples, Indonesia also has stories of villages lagging behind. Mismanagement in training and program implementation will only lead to new problems.

(WER/ITA/HRS/NAD/KOR/NCA/BRO/SIG/SUT/GSA)