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MASTERS OF OUR OWN LAND

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I am at the port. Where are you?

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The tourists who come to Raja Ampat [br]usually stay at the resorts owned by [br]outside investors, business people.

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They (investors) come to Raja Ampat to [br]make money out of Raja Ampat,

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and take it away to where they come from.

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So, I thought, "as a son of Raja Ampat, I [br]own the place, I should be like them."

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If I may say, Raja Ampat is like a newborn [br]baby, that has suddenly become a celebrity.

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And what people are looking for is its [br]sexiness.

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When the sexiness is gone, what will [br]Raja Ampat be?

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The resorts are owned by investors with [br]big capital.

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They can buy out customary land with [br]their money and the people become the [br]victims.

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Therefore we don't want any more [br]resorts here.

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I used to go fishing at night and sell my [br]fish to the resorts.

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At what price? Only enough to buy food [br]for a day. There was nothing left for the [br]next day.

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So, I built this homestay to give me [br]enough income.

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I didn't have money. I didn't have anyone [br]to back me up.

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But I had wood, which can be found in [br]abundance in Raja Ampat.

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There's also a lot of rattan rope here.

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There's also a lot of natural material for [br]roofing here.

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My ancestors and even my parents use it.

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Even God provides the land, ready to use.

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So, I built a homestay and the outcome [br]has been good for me.

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Locals have built the homestays in [br]Raja Ampat.

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Before, the young people of Raja Ampat, [br]especially those from Meosmanswar [br]and South Waigeo, worked at the resorts.

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They learnt about tourism while working [br]in the resorts.

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Once they understood tourism, they decided [br]to quit and open their own homestays.

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Year after year, the number of homestays [br]has increased.

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Today there are 55 homestays.

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After two years, an investor came and [br]asked my staff, "Who owns the homestay?"

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They said, "Mr. Matias Mayor owns it."

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But perhaps because I didn't look neat [br]or dashing, he did not believe it.

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So he asked again and they answered, [br]"He owns the homestay - Mr. Matias Mayor."

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He then opened his suitcase. I saw red [br](100,000 rupiah bills) and blue [br](50,000 rupiah bills) money in it.

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But I thought to myself, "What is the [br]value of that money?"

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If he pays me 200 million rupiah ($20,000) [br]and I distribute it to all my family members,[br]the money would be gone in a week.

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I want to be an entrepreneur and I want to [br]be, what we call "Ember", the master of [br]our own land.

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I have a big dream. In the near future, two [br]or three years from now, my homestay [br]will be like the resorts.

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And I will have many staff from the villages [br]around here,

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so we can all work together here and make a living.