B

eautician and businesswoman Martha Tilaar once said, '€œSuccess will be more meaningful if followed by an ability to share and inspire others.'€

Recently evidence of that success has been the establishment of Roemah Martha Tilaar (RMT, House of Martha Tilaar) in the town in which Martha was born,Gombong, in Kebumen regency, CentralJava.

The RMT officially opened to the public on Dec. 6, and is dedicated to local people and the surrounding areas, for activities that are expected to be meaningful to them.

'€œThe initiative to establish Roemah Martha Tilaar stemmed from the wish of Ibu Martha Tilaar to make a contribution to the town of Gombong, where she was born,'€ said the Martha Tilaar Group in a press release.

The group said that ahead of its 45th anniversary, it intendedto return to engaging in creating meaningful work in the birthplace of Martha through the Yayasan Budaya Gombong (the Gombong Cultural Legacy) and the RMT.

Both have been established to boost the identity and wealth of Gombong and its surrounding areasand as part of a contribution to Indonesian development.

'€œOur mission is to run development and people-empowerment programs focused on the populareconomy and environmentallyfriendly social and cultural activities,'€ the group said of the RMT.

Through the RMT, the group also intends to create a synergy of various stakeholders in order to enhance people'€™s prosperity and to enhance the role of women in various social areas.

Historic house

The RMT is a renovated house where Martha (Handana)spent her childhood, where her parents instilled social values in her and where, as she says in her book, From Gombong, My Village Echoes in the United Nations, New York, she sold mangoes, the experience of which planted in her the seeds of entrepreneurship.

The house,built in the 1920s, was owned by Liem Kiem Seng, a wealthy Chinese man from Jinli Village, Xiamen, China, who came with his children to Gombong during the Dutch colonial period to seek his fortunes.

The house,in theIndische Empire style of architecture, was once used by the Indonesian Red Cross during the 1945 revolutionary period.

It served as a public kitchen and a place to treat Indonesians who had been wounded in a fierce battle with NICA (Japanese) troops.

At the RMT, visitors can get access to information on Martha'€™s life journey with Gombong as a backdrop. The house also serves as a venue for activities focused on society, the popular economy and cultural preservation.

The RMT has served as a museum in terms of content and activities and hopefullyit will become a constantly maintained and vibrant venue.

In developing programs and activities, the RMT will take inspiration from Martha Tilaar Group'€™s four pillars: beauty education, green beauty, beauty culture and empowering women.

Programs and targets

A study has shown that Gombong possesses great potential and resources; either naturally growing or manually preserved. However, this potential has yet to be tapped maximally.

Aware of this, the RMT aims to play a role in helping to develop and empower Gombong people and Kebumen in general.

Programs are focused on the local culture, economy and social activities.

With the local culture, the RMT aims to maintain and develop typically Gombong arts and cultural activities to make them more widely recognized.

On the local economy, efforts will be made to enhance selected business activities, either small-or medium-scale enterprises (SMEs) or industry, including tourism.

In the list of tourism-related potential to be developed are eco-tourism, cultural tourism, culinary tourism, sanctuary spa and the establishment of art-based tourism.

'€œThrough the RMT, we intend to create environmentally friendly social conditions conducive to the enhancement and acknowledgement of women'€™s roles,'€ the group said.

In relation to women'€™s empowerment, the programs will focus on endeavors to improve the health of women, enhance the role of women in the community and the role of women in the household economy.

The group is also demonstrating its commitment to environmental preservation as it has launched environmental programs, including mangrove plantation.

The group also supports environmental protection and cleanliness through community-based reduction and recycling concepts, the planting of household herbs and the utilization of idle land.