The full support and facilitation from the local government and program manager are the two main things that make Kampung KB Jambewangi stand out. Community members are encouraged and taught to take ownership of their potentials and use those potentials to improve their living condition, as well as to accelerate local development.
Since Kampung KB program started in Jambewangi, the face of a once disadvantaged village has changed. Jambewangi has become more resilient, able to meet food sufficiency, and, by practicing proper forest management, is now an emerging tourism destination.
Where: Sempu, Banyuwangi Regency, East Java Province
Date of establishment: 16 May 2016
Kampung KB Jambewangi in Jambewangi village is located in the southern slope of Mount Raung. Administratively, it is part of Sempu District of Banyuwangi Regency, East Java Province.
The village offers spectacular vistas of pine forests, water streams and split rivers, and swaths of paddy fields, crop fields, and plantation. Jambewangi Village occupies a total of 1,422 hectare land and consists of six subvillages: Panjen, Parastembok, Sumberjo, Tlogosari, and Sidomulyo. It sits comfortably at 340-800 masl, giving the village cool air that is suitable for a variety of vegetables and fruits to thrive. The air and the green landscape make it the perfect destination to refresh and relax.
In May 2016, Kampung KB program came to Sidomulyo, one of Jambewangi subvillages and then a completely ordinary rural neighborhood with little to offer to visitors.
Kampung KB program in Sidomulyo initiated a Youth Center of Information and Counseling (PIK), which later mobilized the residents to start exploring Sidomulyo’s potentials. Since then, a field in the subvillage has been developed as a camping ground and has often welcomed scouts from schools in Banyuwangi regency. The Youth PIK also developed Sidomulyo Bike Park to entice downhill mountain bike community.
There has also been cross-sector involvement by local government stakeholders that support the Kampung KB, such as from the Population Control and Family Planning Office (DPPKB), the Health Office, the Fishery and Food Security Office, and the Agricultural Office. In 2018, Kampung KB Sidomulyo was named Model Kampung KB in East Jawa; in 2019, the program was scaled up to village level – now known as Kampung KB Jambewangi.
Today, slowly but surely, Jambewangi Village is transforming. With the support from a variety of parties, the village has continued to explore its potentials, especially its natural wealth that the village can use to develop a new eco-tourism site in Banyuwangi.
