Sambi, a unique heritage village

Sri Wahyuni, The Jakarta Post, Yogyakarta

Sambi, a hamlet in Pakembinangun village, Sleman regency, boasts no historical artifacts or outstanding architectural works. Yet, State Minister for Tourism and Culture I Gde Ardhika and Minister of Agriculture Bungaran Saragih chose Sambi to announce the start of Indonesia Heritage Year (IHY) 2003 recently.

The chairwoman of IHY's organizing committee, Laretna T. Adishakti, said the village was chosen as the venue to launch the event because of its "plainness".

"This is what is called ordinary heritage. Sambi is certainly plain, but rich in meaning and with local wisdom of its own. That's why it deserves preservation," said Laretna.

The reason Sambi was named a heritage conservation village was because the village retains its original look and architecture. Now if a villager wants to build a new house or renovate an old one, he or she must first get the approval of the village tourism group, which is in charge of ensuring the preservation of the Sambi.

Sambi retains characteristics that many other Javanese villages have long lost. There are traditional Javanese joglo and limasan houses, with their senthong tengah (central chamber), senthong tengen (right chamber) and senthong kiwa (left chamber).

Yards are filled with vegetable plants, fruit trees and medicinal plants. In the yards of some houses owned by farmers, cow stalls and equipment to cultivate rice fields are visible.

"The way the houses, yards and the village as a whole is arranged, along with the local wisdom the village contains, makes Sambi worth conserving," said Laretna.

She said heritage activists were worried about losing villages like Sambi to modernization.

In Sambi, for example, some of the traditional houses are no longer lived in and more modern-looking buildings have begun to color the village.

"It's not that we are against development. We believe that humans and human life has to be dynamic and keep on developing. But that does not mean it has to erase local wisdom and values. Development has to be able to see which things should be continued and which should be changed," said Laretna.

The future challenge, she said, was to develop villages as historical environments that not only fulfilled residents' needs, but also maintained an ecological balance and preserved natural resources.

"That way we will create a much better environment that in turn will lead to a higher quality of life," said Laretna, who is also the director of the Center for Heritage Conservation at Gadjah Mada University's School of Architecture.

She called on everyone to help in the conservation of villages across the country, which she said would benefit villagers economically, socially and culturally.

"We have the right to preserve our heritage. Architects, heritage activists, landscape experts and other concerned parties are welcome to do so. During Indonesia Heritage Year 2003, more and more villages in the country will hopefully join the effort and voluntarily preserve their own specific and valuable characteristics," Laretna said.

She said there were already numerous conservation and beautification efforts underway in Sambi. Sleman regency, along with the Yogyakarta Agricultural Institute's Community Service Department and local residents, for example, is developing a tropical flower garden in empty areas in the village.

Villagers also are working to boost art and cultural activities in Sambi, and some residents have turned traditional houses into homestays for visitors, who can trek through the rice fields, learn to play gamelan instruments or how to plant rice.

"You can also enjoy a classic Javanese dance performances, a shadow puppet play or a ketoprak (traditional drama) during your visit," said one villager.