Watusigar Village is one of the villages in Gunungkidul that boasts diverse tourism potential. One of its standout potentials is in the agro sector.
These potentials include tobacco plantations, horticultural farming and villages, stone field sites, the Oya River, Segara Anakan, Ndeso Market, Soka Park, and Watu Lumbung. Each has interconnected narratives, making it attractive in the agrotourism field.
However, this area’s lack of human resources capacity has resulted in suboptimal management. To address this, a team of UGM students, part of the Student Organization Capacity Building program (PPK Ormawa) from the UGM Tourism Student Association (Himapa), has introduced several programs to accelerate the development of the tourism village.
The team has packaged the program under SEAN (Sembrani-Agrotourism and Education) to develop the Sembrani Watusigar Tourism Village based on community-based tourism.
The Indonesian Ministry of Education supports and funds this program. Under the guidance of advisor Dr. Mohamad Rachmadian Narotama, the team introduced the SEAN Program in Watusigar Village on Saturday (Jun. 8).
The SEAN introduction event was attended by Giman, the head of Watusigar Village, tourism village activists, and the community of Watusigar Tourism Village.
Team leader Ferdian Dwi Saputra stated that the SEAN program focuses on tourism, youth organizations, horticultural and tobacco farming, cultural groups in Watusigar, and MSME groups.
The program will be implemented from June to October 2024. It will focus on various training sessions, such as CBT training, agro-tourism training, guiding training, tourism package creation, and digital marketing workshops.
“The Himapa team will also assist in fulfilling tourism amenities in preparation for the Sembrani Watusigar Tourism Village launch,” said Saputra at UGM on Wednesday (Jul. 3).
“With our presence and support from various parties, higher education institutions, partners, village government, and the Watusigar community, we hope we can all synergize to develop the tourism potential in Watusigar Village.”
Saputra also hopes the team’s contribution will increase visits to the Sembrani Watusigar Tourism Village. They aim to achieve institutional readiness and establish the village’s identity by implementing various programs.
Author: Zanuba Elza Noorafifah
Editor: Agung Nugroho