Activities

In the context of the project "Capacity Building of Village Government Institutions and Social Forestry Management to Develop Community-Based Ecotourism", a collaboration between GIZ PROPEAT and DESMA Centre, videography and photography training was conducted for youth groups, Pokdarwis, village governments, HKm management groups in Atap Village and Setabu Village, Nunukan Regency, North Kalimantan. The results of the videography and photography training are expected to be used as promotional tools on their respective social media by promoting nature conservation, culture, and the potential and existing tourist attractions in the two villages.

The videography and photography training in Atap Village was held on 26 to 27 October 2021 at the Atap Village office; followed by training in Setabu Village on 29 to 30 October 2021 at the Setabu Village office. The training started at 08:30 WITA and finished late at night due to the high enthusiasm of the 20 (twenty) participants. The training was given by the DESMA Center Team who provided an introduction to basic videography and photography knowledge by using applications on smartphones, making it easy to be applied by the participants.

The participants in the two villages were invited to identify and explore potential and existing tourist attractions, as well as how to present them in an attractive and informative manner through videos and photos. The participants, all of whom are mostly young people, were quickly able to apply the theory by directly practising the teaching materials provided. Moreover, the participants, who had been selected by the DESMA Center team beforehand, were already familiar with using social media such as Instagram and Facebook. The photos and videos produced by the participants, who were divided into groups, were unexpected. In a short time, they were able to apply all the features that had been taught well.

Through this training, the participants gained new knowledge and improved their skills in using applications and editing photos and videos using smartphones. The participants also realised and understood that their villages have many potential and existing tourist attractions that must be promoted to be preserved and maintained. The participants then created Instagram accounts and Facebook pages to promote and provide information about their respective villages. The future challenge for the participants is to maintain consistency to keep working and updating their social media accounts. 

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The project "Capacity Building of Village Government Institutions and Social Forestry Management to Develop Community-based Ecotourism" implemented by DESMA Center, is a Peatland Management and Rehabilitation Project-GIZ PROPEAT, which is implemented in the context of Indonesia-Germany government cooperation in reducing emissions from the forestry sector and improving the lives of rural communities.

One of the GIZ PROPEAT programmes is to strengthen the capacity of village governments and village forest managers in an effort to support sustainable peat and mangrove management. As a form of conservation of environmental utilisation and protection through sustainable ecotourism management.

Within this framework, GIZ PROPEAT together with DESMA Center conducted a series of activities that included (1) Developing a feasibility study of community-based ecotourism in Atap and Setabu Villages, Nunukan Regency, North Kalimantan; (2) Developing a Village Ecotourism Master Plan for Atap Village and Setabu Village, Nunukan Regency, North Kalimantan (3) Facilitating and implementing integrated concepts and practices for the development of Sustainable Village Ecotourism with Pokdarwis and Village Officials in Atap and Setabu Villages, Nunukan Regency, North Kalimantan; with capacity building activities through a series of training and coaching, institutional strengthening and assistance in drafting village regulations on ecotourism.