Indonesia Moves to Restore Sasak Traditional Village After Fire

RRI.CO.ID, Jakarta - Indonesia’s Ministry of Culture is prioritizing the protection and recovery of Sade Traditional Village in Central Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara, following a major fire that severely damaged the Sasak community settlement. Culture Minister, Fadli Zon, expressed his deep condolences and said the traditional village is an invaluable part of Indonesia’s national cultural heritage.

The fire broke out on Saturday night, August 22, 2026, at around 10:05 p.m. Central Indonesia Time in Sade 1 Hamlet, Rembitan Village, Pujut District, Central Lombok Regency. Preliminary information from local residents indicated that the fire may have been caused by an electrical short circuit, while the close spacing of buildings and highly flammable thatched roofs allowed the flames to spread rapidly.

The disaster caused extensive damage to the village’s physical cultural environment, affecting a total of 167 buildings. The damage included 75 traditional houses, 69 handicraft shops, eight alang-alang granaries, six Berugak Sekepat structures and four large Berugak Sekenam structures.

Other affected facilities included a mosque, Bale Beleq, a public toilet for tourists, the village gate and a Pelonggo. The fire also destroyed valuable cultural objects belonging to the Sasak community, including traditional daggers, spears and klewangs, as well as traditional artistic equipment and ancient manuscripts.

Fadli said the immediate priority was to secure and identify surviving cultural materials, while documenting intangible heritage that could no longer be physically recovered. “The priority during this emergency response phase is to secure and identify all remaining material objects, through both physical and non-physical preservation,” Fadli said.

The ministry is also working to document oral histories, local stories, traditional knowledge and collective memories directly from community elders. Fadli said such documentation is essential to preserving the cultural identity of the Sade community following the destruction of its physical heritage.

Sade Traditional Village has been officially recognized as a tourist village since 1982 and has been part of Indonesia’s national tourism strategic area since 1993. However, an initial post-fire assessment found that Sade Traditional Village had not yet been registered in the Cultural Heritage Database (DAPOBUD) of Central Lombok Regency.

In response, Fadli said the Ministry of Culture would strengthen cultural data and registration, while proposing a recovery plan covering physical restoration, economic recovery and the reconstruction of cultural heritage. The recovery will be carried out in stages, from emergency response and documentation to heritage restoration, digital preservation and stronger community-based disaster preparedness.