Before the nation was born, many groups of people lived as self-regulating communities within tribes or small and large kingdoms. Nusantara (archipelago) had been a melting pot of thousands of communities, some with their own governing systems.

After independence, Nusantara became the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia, incorporating those communities under the government. During the early years of independence under Sukarno, villages were still recognized of their rights, including their right to govern themselves as entities that existed before Indonesia. Four laws — issued in 1948, 1957 and two in 1965 — ensured autonomy of villages over their communities.

Centralization increased under the New Order, and villages were regarded as the smallest unit ruled by elites in the capital under the new Village Law No. 5/1979. 

This approach diminished diversity and corroded villages’ independence in managing their own lives. Villages became cookie-cutter villages and village heads were appointed by political elites outside the village.

Traditional leaders were discouraged from truly leading communities. The needs and consequently the budget for their development were designed by officials from the district offices.

For so many years our villages have been socially, culturally, politically and economically weakened. Almost all natural resources have been owned or managed by outsiders.

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