The UGM Community Service Program (KKN-PPM) team Merintis Rainis 2025, together with the people and government of Alo Village, has developed the Alo Village Master Plan for the 2026–2030 period.
The initiative, carried out through the GoDesa! Program, aims to collect data and facts, conduct mapping, narration, and planning to support village development in Alo, Rainis District, Talaud Islands Regency, North Sulawesi—Indonesia’s northernmost region.
The program was initiated by Muhammad Nabil Rahabibie Indarto, an undergraduate student in the Urban and Regional Planning Program at UGM, with support from peers across disciplines to refine the document based on issues in each sector.
“The village master plan was designed with a participatory approach, meaning that the plan must reflect the needs and aspirations of the community, while also fostering a sense of ownership and ensuring its sustainability,” said Nabil Indarto in an interview on Thursday (Aug. 14).
According to Indarto, villages should ideally have a Village Medium-Term Development Plan (RPJMDesa) to ensure that their development direction can be properly monitored. However, preparing an RPJMDesa usually requires considerable time.
To address this challenge, the UGM Merintis Rainis team created a similar document containing the village profile, potentials and problems, and a plan that could serve as a reference based on the outcomes of their 50-day service program.
The preparation of the Alo Village Master Plan went through three stages: developing the village profile, analyzing potentials and challenges, and planning development strategies. The process began when the KKN-PPM UGM Merintis Rainis team arrived on Tuesday, Jun. 24, and conducted two weeks of observations.
This was followed by sectoral analysis and infrastructure evaluation, and then the drafting of a development plan through community consultations and discussions with the village government.
“The culmination was the Musrenbang (village development planning meeting) held on Sunday, Aug. 8, to ensure that the plan was well-targeted and aligned with the needs of residents, before being presented to the Talaud Regency Government,” added Indarto.
The master plan findings revealed that while the village has sufficient infrastructure in terms of quantity, the quality remains concerning. Indarto highlighted poor school conditions, non-functioning streetlights, and frequent power outages.
He stressed that these issues should receive serious attention from the central government, especially since Alo is categorized as part of Indonesia’s underdeveloped, frontier, and outermost regions (3T).
Indarto also noted that according to the Ministry of Villages’ Village Development Index, Alo is classified as an independent village. Thus, despite its remote location, it is not considered underdeveloped.
Residents of Alo are able to meet their livelihood needs independently, with key commodities including fish, copra, cloves, and nutmeg. For this reason, the village’s development direction has been focused on the theme of an “Agro-Maritime Based Independent Village.”
The preparation of the master plan was warmly welcomed by Alo Village Head, Desius Dulage, who described the plan as a blessing for the community. He expressed gratitude for the assistance provided by the KKN-PPM team in helping the village recognize both its challenges and untapped potential.
“The plan outlined in this document can serve as a reference for our village’s future development, and we hope to gain strong support from the regency government as well,” said Dulage.
Through this program, community service is not only reflected in empowerment and physical development but also in data-driven policymaking with strong community participation, ensuring that the village’s development direction and goals can be implemented clearly.
“In essence, development planning must address all community needs. In this way, empowerment and sustainability can be realized, as the community and village government are the main actors driving development at the village level. We hope that similar village masterplans will continue to be developed and maintained across Indonesia, especially in 3T regions,” concluded Indarto.
Reporter: UGM KKN-PPM Merintis Rainis Team/Nanda Ishaqi
Author: Lintang Andwyna
Editor: Gusti Grehenson