The Malasigi Traditional Tourism Village, fostered by Pertamina EP Papua Field, Zone 14 Eastern Indonesia Region, claimed 1st place in the Pioneer Tourism Village category at the 2024 Indonesian Tourism Village Award (ADWI).
Malasigi is a traditional village located in the Klayili District, Sorong Regency, Southwest Papua. To reach the location, visitors must travel 55 kilometres by land from the centre of Sorong City, a journey of roughly 1.5 hours.
Malasigi has become the only village in the Klayili District that has survived the onslaught of land conversion and has become a model village relying on ecotourism for its income. The community can be empowered and economically independent while still preserving the forest.
Senior Manager of Relations for the Eastern Indonesia Region, Fitri Erika, stated that despite the various challenges in conducting oil and gas operations in the easternmost part of Indonesia, the company’s presence has been able to provide benefits to stakeholders, particularly the local communities, including the local Malasigi community, which has achieved several commendable accomplishments to date.
The tourism program, she continued, is a strategic partnership program with the West Papua Provincial Government, Sorong Regency Government, West Papua Natural Resources Conservation Centre (BKSDA), Maluku Papua Social Forestry and Environmental Partnership Centre (BPSKL), Sorong Regency Forest Management Group (KPH), Fauna & Flora International Papua, and the Papua Cassowary NGO.
“Through harmonious collaboration between the community, government, companies, and NGOs, the Malasigi Village community has a sustainable tourism vision and improves the welfare of its citizens without compromising environmental sustainability,” said Fitri in her statement on Wednesday (20/11).
“Additionally, there are also natural tourism potentials such as hot springs flowing in the Klaluguk River, a 350-meter-long horizontal cave named Go Wo’batiwala, traditional dances, and handicraft products made from forest materials,” she added.
Tourism in Malasigi has now rapidly developed and attracted both local and international tourists due to the efforts of its residents in promoting it on social media. This success opens up opportunities for collaboration with various institutions. Until now, the number of international tourists visiting Malasigi is around 250, including those from Belgium, Sweden, England, the Netherlands, Germany, Australia, India, America, Singapore, Japan, Spain, Korea, and Africa.
In 2023, the sustainable forest management efforts of Kampung Malasigi received recognition from the Government of the Republic of Indonesia through the issuance of the Village Forest Management Decree Number SK.8557/MENLHK-PSKL/PKPS/PSL.0/8/2023, which was directly handed over by the President of the Republic of Indonesia, Joko Widodo. The decree signifies that Kampung Malasigi has the full right to manage the forest area within the village.
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