KENDERAN LIVING CULTURE FESTIVAL: GROWING SUSTAINABLE TOURIST VILLAGE BASED ON A CIRCULAR ECONOMY
Bali always has its appeal, starting from its tourism, culture, and arts attractions. One village that has an attraction in the tourism field is Kenderan Village. The village is an old village located in Gianyar Regency, Bali with attractive tourism potential that can be developed. Because of this potential, in 2021, Kenderan Village received Anugerah Desa Wisata Indonesia from the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy of the Republic of Indonesia.
To further promote the tourism potential of Kenderan Village, the Lecturers of the Vocational Education Program, Universitas Indonesia (UI), namely Hadining Kusumastuti, S.Sos., M.Ak.; Dr. Diaz Pranita, M.M.; and Mila Viendyasari, S.Sos., M.Sc., took part in initiating the holding of Kenderan Living Culture Festival in Kenderan Village, Gianyar, Bali, December 9-11, 2022. The inaugural festival of Kenderan Village aims to promote noble traditions, such as Mekukung, Ngaturang Tirta Ening, and Mepeed, as well as to introduce the world to the uniqueness of Kenderan Village in the form of the archaeological site of Mold Stone for Nekara and Sarkofagus, eleven beji, and three puri.
Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy of Indonesia Sandiaga Salahuddin Uno appreciated the efforts made by Kenderan Village. He said that Indonesia must be proud because it has a village that is not only beautiful but also has a community that is committed to preserving the environment by implementing a circular economy based on a green economy. “Hopefully, a program like this can be adopted by other villages throughout Indonesia so that the green circular economy in Indonesia can grow faster,” Sandi said.
Kenderan Living Culture Festival was officially opened by Regent of Gianyar I Made Mahayastra, at Jaba Pura Griya Sakti Manuaba, Kenderan Village. In his opening remarks, Mahayastra stated that the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic was felt by the tourism sector, Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), and the creative economy.
“Kenderan Living Culture Festival is expected to be a moment for MSMEs and tourism actors to rise and create a significant impact. We should be grateful that we can live normally and carry out activities that must be done as a tourism area. Moreover, Kenderan Village is 1 of the 10 best tourist villages in Indonesia,” said Mahayastra.
The research team of Vocational UI chose the theme for the tourism promotion “The Village of Holy Water–Wellness Tourism Destination and Circular Green Economy Oriented”. Hadining said that holding this festival is expected to be the first step in realizing the ideals of Kenderan Village to become a circular-economy-oriented village that is eco-friendly. He believes that with the strong will and determination of all stakeholders, a sustainable tourist village that is oriented to a circular economy can be realized.
In addition, Kenderan Village as a tourist village that utilizes a circular economy has the potential to become a digital-based sustainable smart tourist village. This concept focuses on how business entities apply the principles of sustainable production in the tourism value chain to create a tourism experience with tourists and integrated it into a tourism system that supports environmental sustainability.
According to the research team of Vocational UI, the circular economy concept is expected to be unique to Kenderan Village as well as solving various waste problems from households, agriculture, woodcraft industry products, and waste from leftover religious or traditional ceremonial activities. With the commitment of various parties, green energy can be implemented in the village through the empowerment of eco-friendly local energy sources.
