POS-KUPANG.COM Reporter Report, Ray Rebon

POS-KUPANG.COM | KUPANG – Camp Uiasa which is located in Uiasa Village, Semau District, Kupang Regency is generating community-based Ecotourism on Semau Island.

Through a release received by POS-KUPANG.COM, OCD Beach And Cafe Kupang Coordinator, Ody Mesakh said that, in the 90s, Uiasa Village was one of the prime tourist attractions in the Kupang bay.

However, after the cessation of direct Kupang-Darwin (Australia) flights and the monetary crisis, all tourism sector businesses in Uiasa Village stopped and only the ruins of buildings (inns and bars) remained and only memories remained for the people of Uiasa Village.

Uiasa beaches and coastlines actually have a tourist attraction, especially underwater tourism such as diving and snorkeling.

“October 23 2020 is the momentum for the return of Uiasa Village tourism. “OCD Beach and Cafe together with the village community launched (Soft Launching) Uiasa Camp which became the momentum for the return of tourism in Uiasa Village,” he said.

The Uiasa coastline has a coral reef ecosystem that is worth exploring.

Several parts of the coral reef on Uiasa beach have been damaged due to fishing using bombs and poison.

He said, to restore the integrity of the Uiasa coral reef, OCD Beach and Cafe is collaborating with GEF SGP (Global Environmental Facilities-Small Grant Program) Phase VI of the Semau Island area, carrying out the “Uiasa Ecotourism Development” project to revive tourism in Uiasa Village which once existed. succeeded 3 decades ago.

He explained that for approximately 10 months together with the OCD Beach and Cafe community, they collaborated to improve the nature of the Uiasa coast and develop a network of tourism service providers in the Uiasa Village, so that the nature of the Uiasa coast is maintained and the village community gets direct benefits from tourism.

For 10 months, OCD Beach and Cafe together with the Uiasa community during the project carried out coral reef conservation efforts using bioreeftek (artificial coral reefs) which had been spread in 60 units of Uiasa waters.

“This activity was carried out by involving the Uiasa youth group from the manufacturing process to the immersion of the bioreeftek in the sea,” he explained.

Furthermore, Ody said, OCD together with volunteers accompanied groups of school children in learning English and an introduction to the environment to prepare local tour guides, and mothers are also trained in simple English so they can communicate with international tourists.

Cooking training for groups of mothers using local ingredients, a tourist camping ground managed by the community in Uiasa with toilet facilities has also been prepared along with attraction facilities such as snorkeling, diving and canoeing.

“In the long term, it is hoped that the community will get economic benefits through tourist visits and the village government will continue to accompany and develop this ecotourism through village funds,” he explained

The Village Government is also expected to be able to develop regulations to protect the coastal environment through village regulations and build joint agreements between villages around the coast of Semau Island for environmental protection.

Coastal tourist attractions that tourists can enjoy when visiting the Uiasa Village Ecotourism is quite diverse.

Uiasa Beach, with a wide stretch of white sand stretching for about 1 kilometer, is the only beach on the coast of Semau Island where swimming, snorkeling and diving can be done.

There are several snorkeling and diving points around the Uiasa coast that can be reached and have a variety of sea corals and fish.

Uiasa Beach also has a wide stretch of white sand that can be used as a camping ground.

Uiasa beach is not only used as a playground. But there are still many other recreational areas such as fresh water swimming pools.

The fresh water pool in Uiasa Village comes from a flowing water source, and this pool is also a source of water for the people of Uiasa Village.

Uiasa Village also has historical buildings such as a lighthouse. This lighthouse is a relic from the colonial era and is the only lighthouse on Semau Island that is still in use today.

This lighthouse is located at a height, so you can see the beautiful views on the north coast of Semau Island.

Sunrise at Uiasa beach is also a moment that cannot be missed for visitors who come to Uiasa beach.

The management of Uiasa beach is handled by the community and youth in Uiasa Village, and the type of community business is called camp uiasa.

He added, since September 2018, 10 civil society organizations and medium business entities, namely, Pikul Association, Cute Motorcycle Gang, CIS Timor, Batanam Community, Dalen Mesa Organic Farming Community, Tafena Tabua Association, OCD Beach and Cafe, Alfa Omega Foundation and Foundation Cemara jointly organizes a social and ecological resilience program on the small island of Semau Island.

This program is a support program by Indonesia’s global environmental facilities-small grant program (GEF-SGP) phase VI program.

The main objective of the socio-ecological resilience program on Semau Island is to build community and nature resilience through sustainable livelihood and conservation practices that are resistant to the impacts of climate change.

The activities carried out by these 10 organizations are, development of organic agriculture, development of ogrosilvo-pastoral and agroforestry, land and coastal conservation for water and food security, development of local food sources and products, community-based ecotourism, and pilot use of renewable energy.

This program is carried out in 6 villages in Semau sub-district, namely, Uiasa Village, Hansisi Village, Huilelot Village, Batuinan Village, Bokonusan Village, and 4 villages in South Semau District, namely, Uiboa Village, Uitiuh Ana Village, Uitiuhtuan Village and Onansila Village.

This article was published on pos-kupang.com with the title Camp Uiasa Revives Community-Based Ecotourism on Semau Island, https://kupang.tribunnews.com/2020/10/23/camp-uiasa-bangkitkan-ekowisata-berbasis-masyarakat-di-pulau-semau?page=all.

Author: Ray Rebon

Editor: Ferry Ndoen