The village of 12 thousand families is one of 100 villages in Indonesia named as a best village by The Ministry of Villages, Disadvantaged Regions and Transmigration of Indonesia. Baturetno is also one of 20 villages which spent half of their village funds on the wellbeing of its people.
In 2019, Rp1.32 billion in village funds was allocated from the central government to Baturetno, an improvement from 2018 when it received only 980 million rupiah.
Baturetno authorities spent the funds on creating several programs for their people, including Posyandu Lansia and Balita (a community healthcare center for children and old people), Gerakan Serentak (Gertak) Pemberantasan Sarang Nyamuk (PSN) Mandiri (eradication of mosquitoes), and Pos Pembinaan Terpadu (a community healthcare center to treat infectious diseases).
To support their programs, development in the educational sector is also being boosted through the construction of Taman Kanak-kanak (kindergarten) and Early Childhood Education and Development buildings.
The development of the quality of local manpower is also supported with the opening of the Lembaga Pemberdayaan Masyarakat Desa (community empowerment center) in Pedukuhan (hamlet) Ngalangan, Plakaran, Wiyoro Lor and Wiyoro Kidul.
Baturetno has also purchased a village ambulance, opened a blood bank, encouraged the planting of edible and medicinal plants, and upgraded its Forum Pengurangan Risiko Bencana (disaster management center).
Baturetno authorities also organized comparative studies of villages and regions which were deemed as having progressed farther.
These studies were funded by individuals, so as to not burden village funds.
According to Baturetno Chief Sarjaka, the people's empowerment is driven by Pemberdayaan Kesejahteraan Keluarga (the village community center).
The village community center, knows as PKK, is organizing free training, such as developing handicrafts, culinary skills, and making batik. The center consists of representatives from every hamlet in the village.
Baturetno authorities are also developing a Micro Finance Institution (Lembaga Keuangan Mikro/LKM), to provide capital assistance of up to 1 million rupiah to start new businesses.
The funding helps home industries to expand their markets to other regions, with products such as yam chips and brownies tempeh.
Furthermore, LKM supports gamelan (traditional musical instrument) industries in Baturetno, which also enriches local culture and creates a community of dalang (puppet masters), karawitan (traditional music groups), and jatilan (traditional dance).
Each innovation to empower people and development in the village is a result of agreements reached in village forums (musyawarah desa) which were made by representatives of the village's residents and the Village Administration.
(INE)
Translator: Lukman H/Gusti NC Aryani
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
Copyright © ANTARA 2019
