Tembi gives tourists taste of traditional life

Tembi gives tourists taste of traditional life

By Bambang M.

YOGYAKARTA (JP): Yogyyakarta has abundant tourist attractions
ranging from historical sites like temples and old palaces to
pristine beaches and rural settings.

If you enjoy a peaceful and natural rural atmosphere,
Yogyakarta has a lot to offer.

One particular site, called Tembi, is located around eight
kilometers south of Yogyakarta on the way to Parangtritis.

Tembi tourist village, as it is called by the owner Warwick
Purser, was developed in l996 and consists of a series of antique
houses built in the traditional Javanese architectural style.

The houses, shaded by lines of coconut trees, are decorated
with antique wooden furniture and various ethnic ornaments.

To add a tropical touch, the owner built natural water ponds
adorned by white and pink water lilies.

Every night, guests are able to enjoy local cuisines while
listening to the music of gamelan, the traditional music of Java.

"Many tourists prefer this kind of homestay to luxurious
hotels. They want to taste a different and genuine Indonesian
lifestyle," said Warwick.

Because the Tempi village is situated in the midst of a rural
area, visitors are able to directly involve themselves in local
activities. Watching children swimming in the river or farmers in
the paddy fields is an interesting activity for foreigners, he
said.

"Compared to ordinary homestays, the village surely gives a
lot more pleasure," said Warwick, a former United Nation's
tourism worker (1979-1989).

Warwick has three pendopo, old houses, where visitors can
stay. Yet, so far, only Warwick's friends - both Indonesians and
foreigners - have been given the chance to stay. Among them are
Indonesian pop singers, high-ranking government officials and
other celebrities.

Singer Iga Mawarni spent her honeymoon there. Iga said she
likes to stay in the village because everything the village has
is still original.

"When she came here for the first time, she said she had
fallen in love with the village," said her husband, Charlie.

Warwick said he would be ready to receive regular visitors in
the near future. In preparation, he is now renovating 10 old
Javanese traditional houses. He is also planning to open an art
shop and a traditional restaurant.

Warwick, a graduate of Barker College in Sydney, Australia,
said he did not want to turn Tembi into a large-scale tourist
village because it would disturb the peace there.

For Warwick, living in the village has been his long time
obsession. "It creates no barrier between us and nature. For me
nature is a potent medicine that I would never get if I lived in
the city," said Warwick, who received the Cultural Heritage Award
from the Yogyakarta Sultan Sri Sultan Hamengku Buwono X for
developing the tourist village in Tembi.

When he moved his handicrafts company, PT Out of Asia, from
Bali to Yogyakarta in 1996, he chose Tembi because he was so
fascinated with the Javanese houses found in the village.

He then rented some of the old houses belonging to local
people for his own home and for the company office. Warwick said
he did not want to buy them because all of the houses belong to
the village.

"These houses are part of Indonesian history," he said.

Some of Warwick's business partners from abroad usually stay
in one of Warwick's old houses when they come to the village on
business.

"Fortunately, they liked it here. This gave Pak Warwick the
idea to build some kind of homestay," said Sukir, an assistant of
Warwick.

His plan was supported by former minister of tourism Marzuki
Usman. The village was then officially named a tourist village in
September 1999.

Now, it's not only Warwick who is interested in doing so. Some
other people, including noted fashion designer Iwan Tirta and
movie star Rima Melati, want to do the same thing. They have also
hired old traditional Javanese houses, repaired them, and turned
them into homestays. "I just want to give an example. I do hope
Tembi will be used as a model for other areas in Indonesia," said
Warwick, adding that Indonesia has become his second home.