Minaesa Village Learn Ecotourism in Perancak & Budeng Village

Perancak – Budeng, October 6-7th, 2022

Minaesa VILLAGE is located in North Minahasa Regency, North Sulawesi. Together with MDPI Foundation (Indonesian Society and Fisheries), village officials and young people plan to turn their village into an Ecotourism Village. One of the efforts made to achieve this dream is to visit the villages of Perancak and Budeng in Jembrana-Bali, to see the ecotourism being developed in the two villages.

The activity was attended by the Village Secretary, Head of BPD, Director of BUMDes, District Extension Officer, Head of Youth, and two from MDPI staff. Before traveling to Perancak Village, the participants first met at the MDPI Office in Suwung, to discuss the activities to be carried out for two days in the western part of the island of Bali.

Perancak Village
The Ecotourism of Perancak Village is managed by the Kurma Asih Turtle Conservation Group which was formed in 1997. This group was founded because of the concerns of the Perancak residents over the existence of turtles at that time. Turtles are hunted and sold, not only for their meat, but also for their shells for crafts and jewelry. Even turtle eggs are also many who are looking for consumption. This causes the turtle population to be much reduced, it can no longer be seen from the beach. Even in the middle of the sea is hard to find.

Pak Anom, Head of the Kurma Asih KKP, said that his family, as part of the turtle hunters, had stopped hunting turtles since 1997, and became turtle conservationists. The process that his family has gone through is very long, changing professions from hunters to conservationists, and inviting others to take care of the existence of turtles.

Today, after 25 years of struggling to conserve turtles, the number of turtles landing on Perancak Beach and its surroundings is increasing to lay their eggs. However, several times turtles were found dead because they had eaten plastic or were caught in plastic waste. This has become the interest of friends from Minaesa because one of the problems currently being faced in the village is the distribution of waste, both on land and in mangrove areas.

Minaesa Village has implemented a policy of not using mineral water bottles in every meeting, so it is hoped that it will reduce the amount of waste added. However, packaging and the use of plastic bags have not been a concern, so these things also need to be considered to reduce the addition.

After discussing, the activity continued with the release of hatchlings. Not all hatchlings can walk quickly to the sea when released, because it has been a while to hatch. The legs of the fins look weak and stiff, so they must be helped to reach sea water (can they swim directly in the ocean, especially for hatchlings that are difficult to move?).

The next activity is to visit Bedetan fish producers. The product is made from lemuru fish. The fish is split and the head removed (in-bed), then seasoned and dried in the sun. Fish are packaged in two packages, containing 9 fish in a standing pouch and 50 fish in a mica box. The people of Minaesa Village also have technology to preserve fish by salting it. Later, it is necessary to rethink the recipe for the preserved seasoning so that it is not too salty and causes high blood pressure.

The visit continued to Jegog Group, a typical Jembrana musical art. Jegog uses petung bamboo as his musical instrument, even the very large petung bamboo. The interesting thing is that the “bass” musicians squat on the bamboo so that they can beat freely and with all their might.

The activities in Perancak ended with a mangrove fringing/mangrove of the Perancak River using an outboard motorized jukung. Various types of mangroves are large and very densely located on either side of the river (unfortunately there is no information on the type of mangroves), large birds and monitor lizards can also be found on the outskirts of the mangroves. Near the estuary, fishing jukungs line the banks of the river, as well as large fishing boats which are often called Madura boats. According to information, Minaesa Village also has rivers and estuaries flanked by mangrove areas. Unfortunately, in the 1980s many mangrove trees were cut down for firewood, so their current condition is not tight.

Budeng Village
The discussion in Budeng was conducted with the Chair and Secretary of the KTH (Forest Farmers Group) Wana Lestari. Many discussions discussed about the various types of mangroves that exist, and the types of mangroves that are suitable for planting in Minaesa Village. Unfortunately I did not note which types of mangroves are suitable in mud or sandy soils. It seems that the important thing to do is to invite Mr. Putu, the Head of KTH, to Minaesa Village to be able to reforest the mangrove area in the village.

The area, which is covered with various types of mangrove trees, used to be, about 15 years ago, a former fish pond area. KTH Wana Lestari also cultivates mud crabs in the mangrove area. Unfortunately, the cultivation model developed is still conventional, by making aquaculture ponds. Currently, there is already a crab cultivation technology where the maintenance is carried out between mangrove trees, without having to make special ponds and cut down mangrove trees.

Discussions with the Budeng Perbekel were also held, particularly related to village administration and the management of BUMDes. Budeng Village has mapped its village area in 2013 and prepared a Budeng Village Area Management Plan in 2014. Based on the village planning, village development was carried out.

The visit to KTH Wana Lestari in Budengan Village closed with a fantastic lunch from Warung Mangrove. Sayur Alor (the leaves grow on the embankments of the mangrove area), mud crabs and shellfish. Yum, the taste is more savory sweet than sea food. The menu is considered to cause cholesterol, but it is still safe because this shop also provides Donju tea made from jeruju-type mangrove leaves.

Congratulations on identifying, planning, and developing Minaesa Village into an ecotourism village, a village managed by village communities based on the potential for village sustainability and the lives of future generations. Guests who come are a bonus, not the main goal. Regards…