Pemberdayaan Masyarakat Desa Jamalsari dalam Mengembangkan Wisata dan Ekonomi Kreatif Berbasis Kearifan Lokal untuk Kesejahteraan Bersama

Abstract

Jamalsari Village has rich local potentials, including natural tourism, agriculture, and traditional culture. Unfortunately, these potentials have not been optimally managed, and as a result, they have not significantly contributed to the community’s welfare. In response to this issue, a community service program was conducted with the goal of empowering the residents in developing tourism and creative economies based on local potentials. The approach used was participatory, where the community was actively involved in every stage of the activity, from identifying potentials and problems to training, mentoring, and evaluating the outcomes. Key activities in this program included training local tour guides to enhance residents' capacity in welcoming tourists, homestay management training as a form of community-based accommodation, and training on processing local products such as cassava chips and opak (crispy rice cakes). In addition, the community was encouraged to utilize social media as a promotional tool for products and tourist destinations. The results of these activities showed an increase in the community’s capacity and awareness in managing the village’s potential. The establishment of the Tourism Awareness Group (Pokdarwis) became one of the success indicators, where this group actively managed tourism activities independently. Furthermore, several prototypes of creative economy products have been successfully produced and widely recognized through digital promotion. This program successfully encouraged active participation from the community in promoting and managing the village as a local wisdom-based tourist destination. The success of this initiative shows that community empowerment oriented towards local potential can be an effective and sustainable approach, with the potential to serve as a replicable model for other villages with similar characteristics. Additionally, with this program, the community began to have a better understanding of the importance of environmental sustainability and cultural preservation in tourism development. This program also opened new opportunities for improving the residents’ economy, creating jobs, and reducing dependence on less sustainable economic sectors.