Hendarwan, Building an Independent Digital Village

Hendarwan, 49, is convinced that village administrations can be digitalized. Apart from facilitating the delivery of public services, a digital system would also be a door to a variety of broader programs.

KOMPAS/VINA OKTAVIA

Hendarwan

The phrase “Selamat Datang di Tiyuh Calak Pulung Kencana” displayed on the wall welcomes everyone who visits the Hall of Tiyuh Pulung Kencana village in Central Tulang Bawang district, West Tulang Bawang regency, Lampung. The village, which is around 120 kilometers from Bandar Lampung, is a picture of an independent digital village in Lampung.

Tiyuh is the Lampung word for village, while Calak means clever or smart. Combined, the phrase says: “Welcome to Pulung Kencana smart village.” Villages are known as tiyuh in West Tulang Bawang regency, nicknamed Tubaba.

Since he was installed as the village head of Pulung Kencana at the end of 2018, Hendarwan has gradually changed the village administrative system into a full e-government. The village is administered under a single, integrated information technology (IT) system through its website, pulungkencana.desa.id.

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Through Tiyuh Pulung Kencana’s IT system, villagers can access public service anywhere. Residents who need permits can apply through the website. They can also monitor progress on their permits using digital devices.

In less than an hour, they will usually receive a notification that their permits are ready for collecting at the village hall. There are no more long lines of people at the hall since the administration was digitalized.

Aside from facilitating the issuance of permits and other legal documents, the digital system also promotes transparency in spending the village funds. The village administration website displays the real-time budget and expenditure (APBDes).

All residents can [access] and monitor the village budget.

“We present our development plans, development progress and use of the village budget in real time on the website. All residents can [access] and monitor the village budget,” said Hendarwan on Monday (13/3/2023), when Kompas visited Pulung Kencana Village Hall.

Besides this, the verification of various social assistance programs is now easier. There is no more overlap between aid programs. Residents who have received a particular type of social aid from the government are automatically ineligible for other types of assistance.

KOMPAS/VINA OKTAVIA

Mujiono (47), a resident of Tiyuh Pulung Kencana, Tulang Bawang Tengah District, West Tulang Bawang Regency, tried an independent electronic service at the Balai Tiyuh office, Monday (13/3/2023).

Hendarwan admitted that he actually had no technological expertise. However, his strong determination to develop a digital government system prompted him to learn much from his IT staff.

He has also frequently joined training workshops on digital village management organized by the Villages, Disadvantaged Regions and Transmigration Ministry or the Lampung Village Community Empowerment and Transmigration Office.

Village programs

Progress in digitalizing the records of in Pulung Kencana village has succeeded in not only cutting red tape. Beyond this, digitalization has also enabled the village administration to map out its programs according to the community’s needs.

For example, around 3,000 Pulung Kencana residents were not registered with the healthcare and social security insurance (BPJS Kesehatan) program. Therefore, the village initiated a waste charity program that is carried out twice monthly. On Friday mornings, all village officials, including Hendarwan, make their rounds collecting waste from the residents’ houses.

Recyclable waste like plastic bags, plastic cups, cardboard, cans and glass bottles are gathered at the village waste management site. After they are sorted, the waste is sold to waste collectors. The proceeds are then used to sign up villagers with BPJS Kesehatan.

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Another program that was made possible by the village’s digital transformation is a greening program that has distributed 2,500 areca palm seedlings to the villagers.

Hendarwan revealed that the village residents had little awareness about paying land and building tax (PBB). Because of this, he distributed areca palm seedlings for residents to plant in their front yards.

With an estimated annual harvest of 25 kilograms from each tree, the villagers can use the proceeds they earn from selling areca nuts sale to pay their PBB. The estimated price of areca nuts is Rp 10,000-Rp 24,000 per kg, depending on whether the nuts are fresh or dried.

KOMPAS/VINA OKTAVIA

Front view of Balai Tiyuh Pulung Kencana office, Tulang Bawang Tengah District, Tulang Bawang Barat Regency, Monday (13/3/2023). Currently, as many as 1,792 villages in Lampung have utilized the digital system for village community services.

Periodically, the village officials responsible for monitoring village development make house calls to see how their trees, goats or fish are doing. This is done to maintain personal ties between the village head, village officials and villagers.

Hendarwan makes sure he visits the residents in person, accepts invitations to ceremonies and has heart-to-heart conversations. He does this all to strengthen the sense of kinship between the people in the village.

“The key to tiyuh development is commitment and good cooperation between all parties. The village head should also listen often to the grievances and ideas of the community for realizing village development,” said Hendarwan.

Rat problem

When talking with farmers, he found out that rats frequently infested their paddy fields. Hendarwan thus thought of eliminating the pest by urging the villagers to keep owls.

The idea struck him several years ago, when he opened the ceiling of his house. He discovered an owl and rat carcasses in its nest. After consulting references online, he grew even more convinced that owls could be used to control rats naturally.

The residents received assistance in building birdcages for the owls near paddy fields. Initially, the village bought 8 pairs of owls. To prevent their theft, Hendarwan issued a rule prohibiting residents from taking the owls.

The owls reproduced, and the village now has more than 50 owls that keep rats away. The farmers’ paddy fields are no longer infested with rats and their harvest yield is much higher.

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Hendarwan hopes that all the village’s innovations can be beneficial to many people, especially its residents. Steadily, his aspiration to promote his village materialized.

Under Hendarwan’s leadership, Pulung Kencana has earned various awards. One of these is first place in the 2021 Lampung Province Village Competition. Pulung Kencana was also recognized as the best model of the Lampung provincial administration’s Smart Village program.

When Hendarwan received an award from Lampung Governor Arinal Djunaidi, he asked for an ambulance to serve the local residents. Pulung Kencana is today the only village in Tubaba regency to have its own ambulance.

Pulung Kencana village shows that nothing is impossible with the appropriate undertakings. The previously underestimated village has turned into a digital village that many other villages in the country look up to.

Hendarwan

Born:Sri Menanti, 4 April 1973Sri Menanti, 4 April 1973

Education:

- SDN 1 Sri Agung North Lampung state elementary school

- SMP 1 Prokimal North Lampung junior high school

- SMAN1 Ketapang North Lampung state senior high school

Occupation:

- Head of Tiyuh Pulung Kencana

- Chairman of the Indonesian Village Administrations Association (Apdesi), Central Tulang Bawang district branch

- Daily Chairman of Apdesi, West Tulang Bawang regency branch

Awards:

- Winner, Community Mutual Assistance Dedication Month (BBGRM), West Tulang Bawang regency, 2019.

- Winner, Best Village Head 2021, from the Public Health Director General, Health Ministry

- Winner, Lampung Province Village Competition, 2021

This article was translated by Aris Prawira.