Located some 150 kilometers from the capital city of Pekanbaru in Riau province, most of the village’s population of 1,776 depend on palm oil as the key source of livelihood.
Indra Kurniawan, the 26-year-old head of Gunung Sari Village, stated that every societal element has always remained supportive and contributed to every program he had suggested.
“Togetherness is our secret recipe. We also put forward the information to encourage openness regarding the village development planning to avoid prejudice among members of the community,” Kurniawan remarked.
In order to be designated as Desa Maju, or Developed Village, in 2019, the village government has been planning to make it one of the best agrotourism villages. The village government has granted several thousands of longan and dalhari guava seedlings to the villagers for planting, not only as decorative plants but also as a potential source of additional income.
“Once harvested, the village-owned enterprise (VoE) will oversee management and marketing of all the fruit produce. This is expected to have a positive impact on the villagers’ revenue,” Kurniawan noted.
All innovations and developments of Gunung Sari have received national recognition. In addition to being named the Best Village by the Ministry of Village, Development of Disadvantaged Regions, and Transmigration, the village also bagged the award of the Climate Village Program by the Environment and Forestry Ministry.
Reporter: Anggi R/Gusti Nur Cahya Aryani
Editor: Bambang Purwanto
Copyright © ANTARA 2019
