Candirejo Village, Indonesia

Candirejo is a traditional Javanese village that has been involved in a pilot project for community-based tourism for revitalisation purposes since 2003. Villagers are highly involved while government units, NPOs, academic institutions, and private sectors that support them. Different endeavours include a tourism cooperative formed by villagers due to the influx of tourists related to the opening of the UNESCO site— Borobudur Temple Compounds—in 1983, and the restoration and management of of the Compounds. Villagers cooperate to create tours for tourists to experience Javanese culture and day-to-day activities; they also share land resources that act as event venues for tourists.

Establishing Village Association as Commoning Structure

Although it is not the conventional village association, villagers from Candirejo have their own form of commoning structure. Villagers aged 17 and above are eligible to participate in the election of a village chief. Rather than forming a dedicated association with selected members, the village holds selapanan, a forum that is conducted every 35 days to discuss problems within the community.

Forming New Models of Rural Practices

Villagers formed Desa Wisata Candirejo (Candirejo Tourism Village Cooperative) to take care of tourism matters and offer cultural attractions and activities for visitors. Villagers help create tourism experiences, such as cooking lessons, homestay programmes, traditional arts performances. The Cooperative hosts regular meetings to ensure villagers are involved. The community manages tourism activities as commons and allocates land resources for different needs while defending common benefits of villagers.

References

• Fatimah, T. (2018). Community-based spatial arrangement for sustainable village environmental improvement – case study of Candirejo Village, Borobudur, Indonesia. Energy Procedia, 153, pp 389-395. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.egypro.2018.10.074
• Fatimah, T. & Kanki, K. (2008). A Study on the Realisation Process of Community Based Green Tourism in Candirejo Village, Borobudur, Indonesia. Journal of the City Planning Institute of Japan, 43, pp 517-522. https://doi.org/10.11361/journalcpij.43.3.517
• Fatimah, T. & Kanki, K. (2009). A Study on Citizens’ Organisations Relationship for Cultural Landscape Conservation Initiatives in Borobudur Sub-district Level, Indonesia. Journal of the City Planning Institute of Japan, 44(3), pp 205-210.