Evolving Cibuntu into Tourist Village
In 2003, two years before retiring from a leading logistic company, several community figures asked him to become a kuwu (village head).
The various local and foreign awards for tourism granted to Cibuntu village, Kuningan regency, West Java, are inseparable from the role of Awam, 71. The village head serving three terms of office has led the transformation of Cibuntu from a former C-category (sand) mining area into a tourist village.
For almost three hours, Awam accompanied Minister Sandiaga Uno and actress Cinta Laura on a sightseeing tour of Cibuntu on Monday (31/5/2021). They were visiting residents’ houses providing homestay facilities, fish therapy ponds and a site with a stone structure dating back to around 3,500 years BCE.
Sandiaga and his entourage ended their tour in a camping area covered by grass and partly surrounded by hills. In the vicinity are ponds, shelters, prayer houses, ablution facilities and bathrooms with toilets. There was no waste or dirt around. Visitors were having fun on the grass.
It’s a remarkable experience,” said Sandiaga, flanked by Kuningan Regent Acep Purnama. Sandiaga was amazed by Cibuntu due to its evolvement from a former sand-pit area into a tourist village teeming with visitors, broadcast by television stations and presented with various awards.
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Over a decade ago, Cibuntu, some 17 kilometers from the hub of Kuningan city, was a sand quarrying area. Only trucks and heavy-duty vehicles were going back and forth, rather than tourists. Residents were carrying sand, leaving open pits and drying water sources. The previously green land turned into a barren area.
The village at the tip of Pasawahan district was almost unknown to tourists. As its name suggests, Cibuntu (buntu meaning blocked) was kind of deadlocked in its development. Even its residents were leaving for big cities to try their luck, including Awam, who went to Jakarta around 1970.
In 2003, two years before retiring from a leading logistic company, several community figures asked him to become a kuwu (village head). “The local community persistently wanted me to return. I was enjoying my work, My children were all in Jakarta,” recalled the father of three and grandfather of three.
For village development, Awam finally entered early retirement and became a sole kuwu candidate. He was shocked to find his birthplace lagging behind. “Infrastructure was damaged as a result of C-category mining. Truck drivers were boozing. Food stalls were selling liquor,” he said.
Several days after his election as kuwu, Awam was visited by legal affairs officials of the Kuningan regency administration. They inquired about the continuity of sand quarrying. Awam firmly rejected any further exploitation of his land. Gradually, he was ending the activity along with local personnel of the sector police office.
“A village head should have power. Thank God, there were no irregularities,” he said. A number of sand quarrying businessmen once persuaded him to issue mining permits. They even offered to rent village land so as to increase village treasury. However, all such offers were rejected by Awam.
Honesty
At the same time, some people depending on C-category mining lost their job and had to go to other regions. “Then, what should we offer in return? Honesty. We spent the village budget on development. Roads were repaired, alleyways asphalted. Residents were thus even more willing to listen to us,” he revealed.
Furthermore, thanks to the support of H Jojo Subagja, an entrepreneur and also his younger brother, the disused sand-pit land was purchased. Jojo was prepared to spend about Rp2 billion on land restructuring. The nearly two hectares of sand quarries were so deep that they had to be refilled for six months. All the efforts were undertaken to evolve Cibuntu into a tourist village.
Village control officers were on guard and booze was raided. The result was that Cibuntu was a potential tourist village.
As a response, in 2011, Trisakti Tourism College in Jakarta conducted a tourist destination feasibility survey in the village. Its indicators included people’s hospitability and local security. Village control officers were on guard and booze was raided. The result was that Cibuntu was a potential tourist village.
Residents were given guidance on how to welcome tourists and make their houses homestay units. Awam also encouraged them to move their sheep pens from the side yards of their homes to a special place a long way from their settlement. The number of sheep in Cibuntu reaches around 1,300 head, more than its population of about 1,000.
Apart from being more hygienic, by moving the sheep a sightseeing tour icon has been created, which is a sheep village. For the security of the sheep, residents take turns to keep guard every night. Electric lighting is provided without charging cattle breeder. Community solidarity is even more felt by residents.
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Village art and culture are promoted. The sedekah bumi traditional ritual of thankfulness becomes a tourist attraction. Art activists have their arena, so do bamboo musical instrument and earthenware makers. Residents’ harvests turn into products such as jasre (ginger and citronella drink) to keep the body warm and ciled (a tapioca snack).
Homestay units totaling only about 20 before 2015 have now reached 60 units with 110 rooms. “Village administrators’ houses are not allowed to be used before those of residents are full,” said Awam, explaining the strategy of empowering residents.
In fact, more than a decade ago it still cost Rp25,000 per square meter.
The graduate of teachers’ training school also protects residents’ land so as not to be sold to external parties. At present, according to him, the land price in Cibuntu fetches Rp400,000 per square meter. In fact, more than a decade ago it still cost Rp25,000 per square meter.
Awam has refused an entrepreneur’s offer to invest Rp10 billion in Cibuntu. “I don’t want it. With such an investor, our people will only be security men or office boys. He’s surely just seeking profit,” he pointed out.
Awam prioritizes the circulation of money among village residents. “The village’s locally generated income (PAD) from tourism only totaled around Rp10 million last year,” he said.
Awam leadership to evolve Cibuntu has succeeded by ranking fourth in Indonesia Sustainable Tourism Award 2019 for the category of Destination Management and emerging as the second Tourist Village in Indonesia for Community Based Tourism in 2017.
This village even earned the fifth place in ASEAN Homestay Standard in 2016. Tourist arrivals also rose sharply from 5,772 in 2014 to 28,964 people in 2019.
Kuningan Regent Acep Purnama appreciated the transformation of Cibuntu from a C-category mining area into a tourist village. “This has been thanks to the guidance of the regency administration and the hard work of abah (as Awam is commonly called), who is no longer young,” he said.
Moreover, his doctor says he has a gall bladder stone condition. He is also wobbly.
Amid the achievements, Awam admitted his occasional exhaustion. His children have often reminded him to take a rest. Moreover, his doctor says he has a gall bladder stone condition. He is also wobbly.
Nonetheless, Awam promises to keep developing tourism in Cibuntu that is not yet finished. “The development involves not only the physical aspect, but also its community,” he added.
Awam
Born: Kuningan, 19 March 1950
Education:
- State Primary School of Cirea Mandirancan
- State Junior High School 1 of Mandirancan
- Teachers’ Training School, Cirebon
Wife: Fatmawati
Profession: Village Head of Cibuntu, Kuningan, West Java
(This article was translated by Aris Prawira)