Four Reasons to Consider Villages in Your Travel Plans
Village is probably one of the main features of Indonesia that has influence in shaping both the identity and dynamic of Indonesian society. Here in Indonesia, villages spreads all across the archipelago, and very rich, yet diverse in socio-cultural backgrounds. Traveling in Indonesian villages gives certain impressions, as there are various things being offered: natural landscapes, local traditions, local culinary, etc. However, as we travel deeper, there are actually things being uncovered, allowing the idea of gaining through cultural understandings.
In the past one year, I have been spending most of my time in a village neighborhood. Instead for traveling, the event was based on (hopefully) a better purpose, which is to support the promotion of rural tourism through small scale business. The initial process of getting familiar with the surrounding was by putting on a traveler mindset, through exploration of some highlighted and non-highlighted things and places. After having encounters through observation (mostly) and interaction with the local people, I started to accumulate the idea of how rural areas should be promoted as travel destinations. Here are four reasons you should consider villages in your travel plans:
- Supporting local economy
By spending money in villages, we are helping local economy to grow. Since the promotion of tourism in several regions of Indonesia, small scale businesses starting to emerge, especially by generating local resources to help empowering the people. In some villages, we can find locals that create and sells handicrafts, local foods, etc. Sometimes, these items are also parts of the tradition with story or philosophy behind them. Moreover, a lot of locals are also offering home stays for visitors with additional guidance about the neighborhood. Through this form of trading, both sides could benefit in terms of financial and inspiration/knowledge gain.
2. Reconnect with the idea of simple living
With sustainability as one of the current world issues,campaigns related to minimalist and simple living (i.e hygge lifestyle) are starting to become popular in some parts of the world. This movement is also being reflected in the way we travel. Some travel packages offers live-in programs for visitors to get a direct and hands-on experience of living as a villager through activities such as planting, traditional cooking, crafting workshops, etc. Visitors are able to learn more about minimalist and simple living through the daily live of people in villages, which principles could simply be adapted, to appreciate and be happy of small things in life.
3. A place to be immersed with nature
Nature is probably the main features which attracts people for coming to villages. When in villages, visitors are not only to enjoy scenes such as mountains, lakes, beaches, rice fields, hills, etc, but also to be immersed in it. For example, visitors could experience swimming in rivers, enjoying night skies without much of light pollution, tracking up the hills, joining locals to harvest in rice fields, hiking the bush, etc. These are the kind of experiences that are mainly offered in villages, and will likely to leave some interesting memories.
4. Helping to create and spread stories
Last but not least, rural tourism could be a source of interesting travel stories to be shared. By spending time in villages, visitors could form their own narratives based on what they observed or experienced. With the help of social media, visitors could help promote rural tourism to other potential visitors or travelers with a unique or authentic content.
Nowadays, more villages in Indonesia are opening their doors to visitors. Rural tourism is not just an alternative, but also adding values to the states of traveling. It is also a means to take a closer look at the characteristics of our own nation, and to understand the many pieces which forms its identity.
