By Trustha
Rembaka
An interesting topic at this time is discussing the role of young people in their participation to develop the village. The existence of young people who have 'heart' for their village or hometown is a blessing and should be supported, even though the struggle is not easy because there are various challenges and situations. But it does not mean to discourage young people to start, instead to encourage more to find strategies to 'break' the barriers calmly and smartly.
The involvement of young people who are struggling to develop their village could also be found in Alor, precisely in Munaseli on the island of Pantar. He is Ruben Sonhibu, a young man who has a high spirit, took initiative to develop his hometown, slowly but sure he is moving forward and developing. Ruben's motivation, passion, and experience are revealed in this interview below.
“First
of all, can Ruben introduce yourself, where you are from, what your educational
background is, and what activities you are currently doing?”
Ruben: I am Ruben Sonhibu, bachelor of Animal husbandry, from Munaseli village, Pantar district, Alor regency, East Nusa Tenggara province. I have graduated from Nusa Cendana University Kupang, majoring in Animal Husbandry. Currently, my activity is working as an entrepreneur, especially a social and tourism entrepreneur in Munaseli.
“What does the situation look like in Munaseli, Ruben's hometown?”
Ruben: The general view of Munaseli is related to the traditional people and their traditional lives, such as the way of life, farming, and trading, in this case bartering goods. In terms of preserving culture, nature, the environment is still well maintained, even though seasonally, in the dry season it is dry. However, community relations and tolerance between religious communities are still well maintained until now. Also, the hospitality of the people in the village is still very high.
“Why is Ruben interested in developing a tourist village in Munaseli? What was the initial idea?”
Ruben: I am interested in developing village-based ecotourism in Munaseli because I see natural, cultural, and marine potencies that are still natural, not managed properly to be productive and beneficial for the community. Therefore, I think this is a great opportunity for people's lives in the future. From there the idea came to pioneer village-based ecotourism.
The idea started when I was elected as chairman of Village Enterprise, Manusirikoko Munaseli. From this point, I and my friends opened a cooperative relationship with several Independent Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) in Alor regency to support our ideas, as well as assist in pioneering village-based ecotourism and together with the Village Enterprise team to map the potencies in the village.
“What kind of strategy did Ruben use to start the community involvement? What are the challenges of the situation in Munaseli?
Ruben: The strategy that I carried out with my friends was approaching the traditional elders to build an ecotourism village, such as collecting stories about the Munaseli kingdom, restoring the original heritage sites with the traditional elders in the village. The real challenge is the quality of human resources, which is still limited and the awareness of young people in the village has not yet emerged to build village-based ecotourism. With the local people, we work together to prepare traditional tools and ways of life.
“Can you tell us the key to develop Munaseli village?”
Ruben: the key to develop Munaseli is good cooperation between Village Enterprise, village government, religious leaders, traditional elders, and the community in Munaseli village, based on the spirit of work and willingness to make changes for a better village.
“What
is the flagship or interesting thing in Munaseli?”
Ruben: Munaseli has a wealth of unique tourism and strong traditional Pantar culture. Munaseli has nature, culture, and underwater potencies that are still natural. Tourists who come to Munaseli will learn about the history of the Munaseli kingdom, a collection of traditional tools such as coconut peelers and graters, corn or rice grinders and how to use them, traditional farming activities, or marine tourism whether swimming or diving to see coral reefs and during the market day, everyone may go shopping in the market by barter system.
This
is the evidence when young people have the enthusiasm to take action and to get the
opportunity to do it, then good changes will occur and bring hope for the
community development, especially in the village. Hopefully, this interview
will inspire young people across the country to be independent, creative and
make positive movements for their hometown.***
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