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.