There are a lot of islands in Raja Ampat, West Papua that you can visit. Many of them are small and isolated so they rarely garner attention from tourists. One example of such an island is Meosmanggara Island, where Meosmanggara Village is located.
Meosmanggara Village doesn’t get too many visitors because reaching the place can be a little difficult. The journey is long, and virtually no public transportation can bring tourists to check out the place. This is a destination that even domestic travelers may have never heard of.
How to Get Meosmanggara Village?
To get to Meosmanggara Village, you’ll take a rather long journey. You can ride a boat from Sorong to Wasai, the capital of Raja Ampat Regency. Here, you can buy some supplies because the village lacks many shops. From Wasai, you will have to take another boat ride to Meosmanggara Island.
Public facilities are very limited in Meosmanggara Village. And if you want to spend a day without hearing any motorbikes, this place will be perfect for you. Walk the unpaved path to explore life in the village and maybe greet some locals. This is one of a few places in Raja Ampat where you can enjoy such an experience.
You won’t be able to spend your night here because they don’t have hotels. However, you can probably arrange a short visit to check this place while you’re staying in Wasai because there isn’t much to do except stroll along the beach and swim in the ocean.
Planning for Meosmanggara
Most of Meosmanggara Village tourism is still in development. The local government has recently joined up with Reef Check Indonesia to develop a special tourism program that will benefit both tourists and locals alike.
This program will include a special tour package that allows tourists to explore the natural wonder of the island’s undersea. This package will include several activities, such as sighting manta rays and reef sharks. It’s part of the plan to increase the locals’ earnings from the tourism sector in Meosmanggara Village.
Through this program, the organization wants to encourage island youth to work in the tourism industry. They want them to contribute more to the island’s tourism. They want them to actively invigorate the island’s tourism, for instance, by becoming tour guides.
Other organizations have also joined the force to help with this program. Maybe in a few years, we will see the results.
Local Rules
Local residents of Meosmanggara Village have very strict rules about respecting the environment. They need a suitable tourism program that can balance cultural beliefs and financial gains. The abovementioned program seems suitable enough, but the government and related parties shouldn’t stop at that.
There need to be more tourism programs that can optimize the island’s many potentials. Meosmanggara Village won’t be the first. There have been many villages from Indonesia and abroad that participate in sustainable tourism practices. They can become a good source of inspiration for future programs.
Other environmental organizations may want to pick the most applicable programs and put them into practice in Meosmanggara Village. The residents must actively transform tourism because only they know about the local rules and prohibitions.
Changing for the better doesn’t mean one has to ruin the present. Ignoring the existing cultural beliefs, when the “beliefs” are good and align with modern views, will only have a catastrophic effect.
The people of Meosmanggara Village have their own wisdom when it comes to maintaining the island’s pristine beauty. And since this wisdom can help people protect the environment, it should be respected. Any tourism program development should be planned with this wisdom in mind.
