MASTERS OF OUR OWN LAND
I am at the port. Where are you?
The tourists who come to Raja Ampat usually stay at the resorts owned by
outside investors, business people.
They (investors) come to Raja Ampat to make money out of Raja Ampat,
and take it away to where they come from.
So, I thought, "as a son of Raja Ampat, I own the place, I should be like them."
If I may say, Raja Ampat is like a newborn baby, that has suddenly become a celebrity.
And what people are looking for is its sexiness.
When the sexiness is gone, what will Raja Ampat be?
The resorts are owned by investors with big capital.
They can buy out customary land with their money and the people become the victims.
Therefore we don't want any more resorts here.
I used to go fishing at night and sell my fish to the resorts.
At what price? Only enough to buy food for a day. There was nothing left for the next day.
So, I built this homestay to give me enough income.
I didn't have money. I didn't have anyone to back me up.
But I had wood, which can be found in abundance in Raja Ampat.
There's also a lot of rattan rope here.
There's also a lot of natural material for roofing here.
My ancestors and even my parents use it.
Even God provides the land, ready to use.
So, I built a homestay and the outcome has been good for me.
Locals have built the homestays in Raja Ampat.
Before, the young people of Raja Ampat, especially those from Meosmanswar and South Waigeo, worked at the resorts.
They learnt about tourism while working in the resorts.
Once they understood tourism, they decided to quit and open their own homestays.
Year after year, the number of homestays has increased.
Today there are 55 homestays.
After two years, an investor came and asked my staff, "Who owns the homestay?"
They said, "Mr. Matias Mayor owns it."
But perhaps because I didn't look neat or dashing, he did not believe it.
So he asked again and they answered, "He owns the homestay - Mr. Matias Mayor."
He then opened his suitcase. I saw red (100,000 rupiah bills) and blue (50,000 rupiah bills) money in it.
But I thought to myself, "What is the value of that money?"
If he pays me 200 million rupiah ($20,000) and I distribute it to all my family members, the money would be gone in a week.
I want to be an entrepreneur and I want to be, what we call "Ember", the master of our own land.
I have a big dream. In the near future, two or three years from now, my homestay will be like the resorts.
And I will have many staff from the villages around here,
so we can all work together here and make a living.