SARTIKA, THE INITIATOR OF ECOTOURISM IN AGUSEN

USAID LESTARI: STORY FROM THE FIELD

By: Eha Julaeha

The term ‘environmental services’ was first coined in a study about critical environmental problems con-ducted by Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1970. Essentially, environmental services are what-ever utility environment delivers to humans. There are several forms of environmental services: water conservation, biodiversity protection, natural beau-ty preservation, etc. Preserving nature’s beauty may give us an opportunity to develop eco-tourism.

In Aceh, especially in Gayo Lues, there are many nat-ural resources that will benefit the people if man-aged properly. One of the region is Agusen, a village in Blangkerejen District. Agusen Village is seven ki-lometer away from Susi Air Airport and reachable within fifteen minutes. One big advantage of Agu-sen is its thick forest and a clean river with strong current. Many believe that bathing with the water from the river can be a therapeutic heal for several illnesses. Not to mention, the area is also a strategic location for camping while enjoying the view and the sound of various birds.

It is not false for the people to say that, “Agusen is a perfect blend of river, green valley, conservation forest, and various wild animals. The beauty and the charm of the thick forest are wrapped with quiet-ness like a paradise hidden behind rocks. Even when

“In dealing with indi- genous communities, we can not be autho- ritarian. For example, if we tell them to stop cutting down trees, it will not work. But [we should instead tell them] about how to make the land more productive”

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the sun ray stings, the continuous supply of oxygen from trees calm the heat down and give comfort.”

The charm of Agusen is what mesmerises Sartika. The area is not foreign to her; she is the first fe-male regent of Negeri Seribu Bukit, Gayo Lues. Her love for environment can not be separated from her writing/blogging activities. There are many environ-ment-related writings on her blog. When she was young, she went to enjoy nature every weekend. Ap-parently, she is indeed destined to serve people and environment.

Sartika Mayasari Awaluddin (her full name) was the best graduate of STPDN (Sekolah Pemerintahan Dalam Negeri). Many of her friends wanted to work in the Ministry of Internal Affairs, but she chose to come back to her village and develop Gayo Lues. Her decision was reasonable; her study was funded by the state and she feels obliged to payback to the people. “Loving your country is a part of faith. It is not wrong for us to say that loving Negeri Seribu Bukit is also a part of faith,” she said.

“When I visited Agusen for the first time, I imag-ined that someday this area will be visited by a lot of people, there will be treks, parking lot, cycling path, guest house, and other facilities for tourism.” That is a dream she wants to realise.

As an urban planner, in every step of her work she always considers supporting factors, obstacles, and related stakeholders. She holds meetings and discus-sions with citizens. She said, “People is the key to the success of a program. For me, listening to people’s critiques and suggestions is mandatory.” This can be done either by participating in women Koran read-ings or holding meetings with men.

She does the same thing to develop her eco-tourism program. After reaching an agreement with the citi-

zens, she successfully formed Kelompok Sadar Wisa-ta or Tourism Group.

To equip the citizens with english, she made a pro-gram named English Village that will be held for three months. The morning session is for mothers. The noon session is for children. And the night session is for fathers. This is necessary to ensure the people are ready to communicate with foreigners.

Other program to develop Agusen Village is relat-ed to cleanliness and hygiene. Sartika formed Trash Bank (Bank Sampah) that is ran by young men and women. This program has been tested and proven successful in Bustanussalam Village with 280 custom-ers. The idea is to exchange plastic, paper and other organic garbages with foods, phone credit, electricity, or free medication. In Agusen, the program will be officially underway by September 2016. The Regional Ministry of Environment and Forestry is willing sup-port the program by giving a technology to process the garbages.

Unemployed young adults are trained to be entre-preneurs. The first business product created was a coffee named Kopi Agusen. Besides being sold as souvenirs, the coffee is also marketed in supermar-kets in Medan and other regions in Sumatra. Their role in not limited to doing business but the young adults also guide tourists .

Sartika’s dream to turn Agusen into a tourist des-tination is starting to be realised. For example, a homebird program, that costs Rp 300,000/person, attracted 600 foreign tourists to stay for one or two nights in the forest in 2015.

For the future, Sartika hopes to create a coffee tourism program where tourists can plant a Long-berry coffee tree and have their names written as the farmers. Now, there is an indigenous land that

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Foto: Sartika 2nd from right. After launching Tourism Village (Kampung Wisata) and English Village (Kampung Inggris) programs.

Location: Jembatan Gantung, Agusen Village, main access connecting the settlement and the farms.

is going to be used for farming and its profit will go to Regional Income (Pendapatan Asli Daerah/PAD).

Now, there are four restaurants and 0.5 hectare waqf land is also turned into a small mosque, a toilet, and a shower room to support the needs of the tourists. Those who wish to stay longer can stay in the local people’s house for Rp 100,000/night includ-ing breakfast. Twenty-five houses are now ready to host guests. Homestay program like this allows tour-ists to directly dive into the culture and the daily lives of the people. Tourists and the hosts can know and learn from each other which increases tolerance and cultivates understanding. Such homestay program is also aligned with Indonesia’s well-known hospitality.

The success of this eco-tourism program is not in-dependent to the citizens’ support. If the citizens op-pose the plan, Agusen’s eco-tourism would never be realised. “In dealing with indigenous communities, we can not be authoritarian. For example, if we tell them to stop cutting down trees, it will not work. But [we should instead tell them] about how to make the land more productive.”

Sartika’s struggle is not effortless. She faced many challenges along the way including slow and unre-sponsive related governmental agencies. The citizens were also not very open to new people and new ideas. These challenges can be eventually overcome as eco-tourism grows.

Now, Agusen and surrounding villages have become a destination for both domestic and foreign tourists. They are always under continuous improvements. The success of Agusen makes Sartika a well-known speaker in tourism development field. Whenever she speaks about tourism at an event, she can slip and promote the successful Agusen’s tourism. The eldest daughter of Awaluddin and Umi Selamah also received national Citra Kartini award government category.

Photo: Sartika with teenagers in a training about promoting eco-tourism

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Photo: Sartika in a weekend expedition