THE EDITOR – Villages in Banyuwangi have made another national achievements. This time, Kemiren Village or widely known as the Kemiren Osing Traditional Tourism Village in Glagah Sub-district won 2nd place in the 2024 Indonesian Tourism Village Award (ADWI) Institutional and Human Resources Category, held by the Ministry of Tourism.
“We are grateful that villages in Banyuwangi continue to rise with their diverse potential. Some are advanced in the agricultural sector, some in governance, some are prominent in tourism. Kemiren Village itself has repeatedly received awards,” said Acting Banyuwangi Regent Sugirah, Tuesday (19/11/2024).
Sugirah attended the award presentation at the 2024 Indonesian Tourism Village Award Night held at the Tanah Airku Theatre, Taman Mini Indonesia Indah (TMII), Sunday (17/11/2024). Also present at the event was Indonesian Tourism Minister Widiyanti Putri Wardhana. The award was presented by the Deputy for Destination and Infrastructure Development of the Ministry of Tourism, Hariyanto.
ADWI is an awarding event for tourist villages that have achievements with assessment criteria from the Indonesian Ministry of Tourism.
To get the award, Kemiren Traditional Tourism Village must compete with 6,016 tourist villages throughout Indonesia. After going through a series of curation, the top 300 tourist villages were selected, which were then narrowed down to the Top 100. After that, the top 50 best tourist villages were selected as a result of the curation of the board of curators and the jury.
“We are grateful for the hard work of the village’s government. Hopefully, the achievements of Kemiren Village can be an inspiration for other tourist villages in Banyuwangi to continue to rise and improve,” Sugirah added.
Kemiren Osing Traditional Tourism Village is a complete destination. The village, which is home for the Osing Tribe (the indigenous people of Banyuwangi), has natural beauty, charming arts, and a culture that has been preserved for generations. In 2021, this tourist village was certified as a Sustainable Tourism Village by the Ministry of Tourism.
Head of Kemiren Traditional Tourism Village M. Arifin explained that his village won the ADWI 2024 award in the Institutional and Human Resources category.
This award was achieved because Kemiren Village was considered successful in strengthening the ecosystem of human resource empowerment in the village to increase employment and the economy of residents. In addition, Kemiren Village is also considered to have a strong commitment in supporting gender equality.
These are proven through various programmes that have been run by the village. These include assistance with institutional legality, training to increase MSME production, and training on renewable energy (biogas).
“We also provide training on tourism management for homestay owners and other tourism businesses. With the hope that the businesses they run can continue to grow and be sustainable,” explained Arifin.
With the various programmes implemented, 40 homestays have been established in Kemiren Village. The number of licensed MSMEs (PIRT, SNI, and halal certification) is also increasing. In addition, the participation of women also continues to increase – almost every traditional activity displays art attractions whose actors are mostly women.
The development of this village also involves its residents. Many homestays are set up by local residents with Osing architecture and the friendliness of the people makes it feel comfortable to stay at.
It is also supported by good amenities, from public toilets to digital-based public services through the Smart Kampung application.
Coming to this village, tourists will be presented with various tourist attractions such as education, culinary, and culture. There is a Kampoeng Osing Market, Pesantogan Kemangi food stall, and Osing traditional house area.
In this village, the existence of Gandrung is so inherent. It is because, in addition to the tourism mascot and welcome dance, it cannot be separated from the work of Gandrung maestro Temu who is native to Kemiren Village. There is also Burdah, Angklung Paglak, and Mocoan Lontar Yusup as one of the intangible cultural heritage.
