Viral 'Koperasi Merah Putih' in Bandung Barat's Stone Garden Clarified by Village Head

The construction of a Koperasi Merah Putih (KMP) in Kampung Girimulya, Gunungmasigit Village, Cipatat District, West Bandung Regency, has suddenly gone viral on social media. The building was alleged to be standing in the middle of a forest, surrounded by bushes, and even considered to lack adequate access. From circulating videos, the cooperative does appear to be in the Stone Garden karst hills area, with a limestone cliff rising behind the building and the surroundings filled with shrubs and bamboo clumps, giving the impression it is in the middle of a mountain. However, the Gunungmasigit Village Government has denied this perception. Gunungmasigit Village Head Tarkopa asserted that the Koperasi Merah Putih location is neither on a mountain peak nor in the middle of a forest as widely discussed. ‘Its position is not actually on top of a mountain. It is below Mount Masigit, in fact it is in the open area, in the Stone Garden car park. And the construction does not disturb the car park because it was arranged so that its position is not right in the middle,’ Tarkopa said on Monday (6/7/2026). Based on on-site observation, the building, measuring approximately 20 by 30 metres, does stand in the parking area of the Indiana Camp and Stone Garden tourist attraction. The location is about 500 metres from the Padalarang-Cianjur main road. Although access to the site is still a rocky road, the area is not far from the residential area of Kampung Girimulya. Currently, the cooperative’s construction is not yet fully complete, with work progress at about 10 per cent, including the installation of rolling doors and the arrangement of furniture to display products that will later be marketed. Tarkopa explained that the Stone Garden location was chosen after the village government proposed five alternative village-owned land plots to PT Agrinas Pangan Nusantara, the implementing contractor for the Koperasi Merah Putih programme. ‘I showed several village land points. Among them were Stone Garden in RW 9 Girimulya, village land in RW 16 Liung Gunung, the third in Cigintung RW 21, the fourth in RW 19 Cihalimun, and the fifth in Cicalada,’ he said. Of the five locations, the Stone Garden area was deemed the most suitable. Following a field survey by PT Agrinas, the location was ultimately decided as the construction point. ‘So the village government’s role only went that far. Honestly, it is not on top of a mountain. It is below, between Mount Masigit and Stone Garden. It is also not too far from the settlement,’ Tarkopa clarified. According to him, the presence of the Koperasi Merah Putih is expected to support tourism activities in the Stone Garden area while driving the local community’s economy. He hopes the cooperative can collaborate with the Tourism Awareness Group (Pokdarwis) that has been managing Stone Garden, especially in supplying the needs of traders and business operators in the tourist area. ‘My hope is that later it can collaborate with Pokdarwis because Stone Garden is managed by Pokdarwis. So later the food stalls can be supplied by the Village Cooperative there,’ he said. In addition to being a distribution centre for tourism needs, the cooperative is also projected to become a pillar of village food security by accommodating residents’ agricultural produce. ‘Hopefully, with the existence of this Village Cooperative, it can later enhance food security. And in the future, the Village Cooperative can also supply the Free Nutritious Meals programme in Gunungmasigit Village,’ he added.