Socio-cultural transformation aspects of the local sustainability from a traditional community in the protected area

Abstract

Most of Indonesia’s villages encounter obstacles to their prosperity aspect; however, despite its remote location, Ranupani has not experienced such issue. Blessed by fertile arable lands, abundant natural resources, and supported by many government programs, this village does not experience economic issues. At the same time, however, environmental and socio-cultural issues are started to be felt by the community. Fragmentations happen among the people, and natural disasters also frequently hit this village, decreasing environmental quality and carrying capacity. The locals should consider these situations well to re-think the village’s future. Do they need to keep on business as usual to maximize their economic potential, or might they be thriving to regain the socio-cultural and environmental sustainability they have in the past? These discussions are indeed away from easy for them, particularly in the middle of extreme transformation situations. This article uses a narrative-ethnographic approach, library research, and the lived-in-in-the-site method. Data was collected by interviewing the involved relevant actors and some observative participation in this village’s community activities. Revealing the discussions about future village development becomes the final aim of this article, mainly related to the sustainability aspects. The analysis shows distinctive differences between the sustainability priorities and the people, with economic interest dominating the debate. Awareness and education levels of the people along with the leadership become the critical aspects whether those discussions of the sustainability priorities will bring a better village or otherwise.