New Hope from Sawahlunto

KOMPAS/YOLA SASTRA

The historical city of Sawahlunto sprawls across the foothills of West Sumatra’s Mount Cemara on Saturday (29/6/2019). Sawahlunto and the nearby Lubang Tambang Mbah Soero, a tunnel of the Ombilin coal mine, are awaiting to hear UNESCO’s decision on their application for World Heritage status, due to be announced on 10 July 2019 in Baku, Azerbaijan.

The Ombilin coal mine in Sawahlunto, West Sumatra was named as a UNESCO World Heritage site during the 43rd session of UNESCO World Heritage Committee in Baku, Azerbaijan on 6 July 2019.

Kamsri Benty, 65, owner of the Cendana homestay, was happy to hear the news. With its status as one of UNESCO heritage sites, Ombilin will become an oasis amid a decline in tourist arrivals since 2016.

"More tourists, especially foreigners, are expected to visit Ombilin. This is an opportunity and a challenge for us homestay owners. We must be welcome," Kamsri, the chairperson of the Sawahlunto homestay association, said on Wednesday (10/7/2019).

Homestay is one of important supporting facilities for the Sawahlunto tourism in the midst of the lack of hotels. At least there are 56 self-managed homestays with a combined capacity of 500 guests. With a concept of a family home, staying in a homestay is quite interesting, because guests feel like stay with a foster parent.

For Kamsri, service to guests is not a serious challenge for her and other members of the association amid the expected increase in tourist arrivals. In terms of service, most homestays in Sawahlunto have been tested and have become references to other regions.

The real challenge is the promotion. Not many homestays are interested in using bookings through the online application.

The association’s member Oma Homestay in Sawahlunto, for example, was awarded the best homestays in West Sumatra (2014), third best national award (2015), and fifth best Southeast Asian award (2015). "The real challenge is the promotion. Not many homestays are interested in using bookings through the online application," Kamsri said.

The new status also brings a new hope to a typical silungkang songket (traditional woven fabric) traders. Anita Dona Asri, 33, a songket entrepreneur, who is also empowering many young women in Lunto Timur village, Lembah Segar district, for example, hopes that the expected increase in tourist arrivals will revive the silungkang songket weaving . "Songket weaving is now the main source of income for 19 artisans here," Anita said.

Sawahlunto city, which is about 95 kilometers from the city of Padang, is indeed unique. One of its uniqueness is it hosts the site of the oldest coal miner in Southeast Asia, which is still well maintained even though it is about a century old.

In addition, the coal transportation network to Padang and various old buildings are still well maintained until today. The head of the West Sumatra cultural heritage conservation center, Nurmatias said that the Ombilin coal mine in Sawahlunto deserves to be a world heritage because it holds a high historical value.

Apart from the dark story of slavery and coal workers being chained on their feet, high calorie coal in the Ombilin coal mine was one of the best in the world.

"The coal transportation system by train was quite sophisticated at the end of the 19th century until the beginning of the 20th century," said Nurmatias.

The sophistication of the railroad network for coal distribution can be seen from the use of rack tracks which is quite rare in Indonesia. The rack tracks were used because they passed mountainous areas. The train network also has many tunnels and bridges with high construction complexity.

KOMPAS/YOLA SASTRA

A guide (right) leads a tour group on Saturday (29/6/2019) through Lubang Tambang Mbah Soero, part of the Ombilin coal mine in Sawahlunto, West Sumatra. Indonesia has submitted the coal mine for consideration as a World Heritage site, with UNESCO expected to announce its decision on 10 July 2019 in Baku, Azerbaijan.

An equally important legacy of the Ombilin coal mining site is the multicultural and religious community that live in Sawahlunto. "The old city of Sawahlunto can be said to be a megapolitan city in the late 19th century until the beginning of the 20th century. The area was multicultural," Nurmatias said.

In addition to watching the rest of the mining area, tourists to Sawahlunto can also enjoy the atmosphere of the old colonial mine town. In addition there are also dozens of cultural reserves, such as mine operational offices, coal silos, underground mining pits, train stations, coal transport steam trains, Dutch graves, and ration warehouses.

The deputy mayor of Sawahlunto, Zohirin Sayuti, said, to maximize tourism potential in Sawahlunto, the city government would immediately revitalize the museum, such as the Museum of Warehouse Rations and Prison of Chained People.