My note on the concept of Culture

Last weekend I was involved in an activity where I have to assess one's ability to adjust to new environment and culture to be able to perform self growth from it. From that activity, I am seeing young individuals who are determined to become world citizens by gaining experience and learning interculturally. What is it about this intercultural experience and learning that attracts people to be immersed in?

The concept of intercultural experience and learning is very closely associated with culture. In my definition, culture represents a wide aspect in our everyday life, from our way of thinking, way of living, way of creating something, etc. I think that every single person is part/product of a bigger culture and they represents the culture of their own at the same time. The process of creating culture involved external stimulus as well as generating our own values and ideals.

We see and witnessed varieties of individual ways of living, thinking, etc. We can see that, potentially, there are many ideas and new ways that could be developed by opening our minds to learn and see how the way of others may benefit us. Ideally, with open minds, we can be more receptive and able to unleash limitless creativity to create or improve many things in life. But on the realistic side, of course there are challenges to overcome when implementing the effort, from really believing the power of oneself, being misunderstood by others, to unsupportive external conditions (i.e corruptive government, conflicts,  etc).

While it seems that there may be no boundaries when it comes to discovering culture, the boundaries actually exists within ourselves as individuals. In other word, the extend to where we can change our behavior (even though we have been culturally empowered) actually has limit. If you happen to follow Daniel Pink and his show at Nat Geo channel, it is validated how we are tend to be 'lost' in our habits and culture, therefore controlling it becomes necessary. Or we all recalls on how our prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) always behave in kind manner in order to inspire and influence the disbelievers to take the right path. Culture could also be formed as influence to inspire and empower.

I guess these young people are aware on how intercultural learning and experience will benefit them by being able to learn about something that they have never been exposed to,and also being used to accepting new stimulus. The experience will have effect not just in short term, but also long term, as culture is not something to be mastered in an overnight. It is a fluid entity, which will stimulates, inspires, and challenges us in our entire life.

my note on community based tourism

source : https://socentindo.wordpress.com/2011/11/30/community-based-tourism-in-waerebo-flores/

How is the way of travelling changing in the nowadays context? And how is it associated with the idea of improving communities?

For you wanderers and explorers, I am pretty sure that you have the thought that there are many ways to experience the world. As an ultimate traveler, you tend to find ways to be connected with the people that you meet at your destinations, as well as the surroundings. You will make the best of your time and money to gain as much experience as possible. Travelling is not just a means of leisure, but also a means of exploring local cultures, food, history, landscapes, etc

For us millennials, travelling has becoming something that is incorporated to our lifestyle. Travelling is somewhat the catharsis media of the buzzing routines millennials tend to have. We realize the importance of taking our time offs and to keep exploring.  On the other hand, there are some people who are dedicating themselves freely, and took the opposite approach. Out there, there are individuals who directly took part as catalyst, entrepreneurs, agent of change that promotes tourism in many different ways. With their creativity, these people offers new ways of travelling to the emerging market, while on the other hand also engaging and collaborating with the local community to help improve their lives.

We see this growing trend of travelling, particularly among youngsters in Indonesia. If you look closely, what is there to miss? Our nation has some of the most beautiful landscapes in the world. And on top of that, given thousands of islands that existed in this nation, there are many settings and cultures that could be explored. Given these potentials, it is not too vague to say that tourism is a promising industry that is worth to be explored. With their entrepreneurial mindset, some people took the chance to create something out of it. One example that I am going to emphasize in this writing is the concept of community based tourism.

Community based tourism allowed local residents (often rural, poor, and economically marginalized) to develop strategies and plans to promote the local potentials by inviting tourist to visit their communities. This will includes activities such as organizing festivals, providing homestay, as well as marketing products of artisan goods. This system allows residents to earn income as land managers, entrepreneurs, service, etc. On the consumer side, community based tourism allows tourist to discover local habitats and wildlife, as well as knowing more about traditional cultures, rituals, and wisdom.

Kampung Wisata Mola is one example of community based tourism implemented in Wakatobi, Sulawesi. The idea of this project is to develop an ecotourism that allows the establishment of sustainable socio-cultural interaction. Wakatobi has one of the richest underwater life in the world which attracts thousands of tourist coming to experience it. With quite a number of visitors coming, the local community who established Kampung Wisata Mola are findings ways for visitors to also experience their majestic local culture in various ways, such as tasting local culinary, introducing the Bajo star telling tradition, and let tourists to have hands on experience being a traditional Bajo fisherman.

The concept of community based tourism somewhat contribute in offering new ways of travelling and exploring and empowering communities at the same time. These two ingredients are important in creating a sustainable social enterprise, where in the bigger context, business and development are also shifting to a more impactful and environment friendly causes. Community based tourism may be small business units which contribute in creating new employment opportunities in communities. Specifically, this system also allows the transfer of knowledge, as well as exchange of ideas and experiences between tourist and the local people. If managed properly, these advantages will enhance growth as both sides gain new perspectives, skills, and knowledge from the process.

So, are you on board?