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Bawean sets sights on sustainable community-based tourism
Other than deer, Bawean Island boasts other attractions such as beautiful landscapes as well as art and culture.
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A marine-tourism beach at Gili Noko Island on the east side of Bawean Island.
(JP/Nedi Putra AW)
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awean Island is becoming increasingly popular after one of its endemic species, the Bawean deer, was made a mascot for the Asian Games.
Other than the deer, the island, which is situated in the Java Sea about 120 kilometers north of Gresik, boasts other attractions, including beautiful landscapes as well as art and culture. Recently, the people of Teguh hamlet, Mount Teguh village, Sangkapura district, declared the area a cultural kampung by holding a tourism event.
Held on Thursday, various activities were showcased at the event, from pencak silat (traditional martial arts) and lesung playing art or dhungka to local art and food.
"We are trying to showcase whatever potential our people possess at the event," Teguh Hamlet Youth head and coinitiator Faisyal Akli told The Jakarta Post.
Read also: Birth of Bawean fawn adds joy to 2018 Asian Games
He added that Bawean was known for marine tourism due to it being surrounded by beaches and ocean. "However, there are actually many other cultural riches that are on offer."
Faisal said the idea came about after research had been conducted by the Research, Technology and Higher Education Ministry in the area over the past three years. He is hopeful that the event, which received support from the ministry, will help the village become a sustainable community-based tourism kampung.
The ministry's researcher, Hamim Farhan, said Mt. Teguh was a village that had huge potential. The locals themselves come from various ethnicities, from Madura and Javanese to Bugis.
"It's not that other villages don't have huge potential. This event serves as a pilot project that we can implement in other regions," he said, adding that local administrations’ own initiatives and supporting regulations were also needed to support such activities. (kes)
