Osing Cultural Heritage Boosts Local Economy in Banyuwangi

RRI.CO.ID, Banyuwangi – The Desa Sejahtera Astra (Prosperous Village) initiative in the Kemiren Customary Osing Tourism Village, Banyuwangi Regency, East Java, has successfully accelerated community-level financial growth by leveraging the region's indigenous Osing cultural assets as an alternative economic engine.

Lacking conventional natural draws like mountains or beaches, the village has relied completely on its unique customs, arts, and architectural heritage to capture the market. An organizer for the Kemiren project, Mohammad Edy Saputro, noted that cultural assets have become the community's primary lifeline.

"We don't have mountains, we don't have beaches. We don't even have rice fields with nice terraces or anything like that. But we do have culture," Edy said on Friday, June 26, 2026, as quoted by Antara.

He explained that the unique Osing identity has been packaged into comprehensive experiential products, including culinary tours, interactive educational workshops, cultural immersive homestays (live-in packages), and unique cultural venues for meetings, incentives, conventions, and exhibitions (MICE).

While the vast majority of Kemiren's residents are traditionally rice farmers, the cultural tourism framework has provided a highly reliable financial shield against the systemic uncertainties and price fluctuations of the agricultural sector. Tourism revenue has stabilized household earnings for local micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), tour guides, traditional artists, culinary providers, and owners of local homestays operating under the village’s Tourism Awareness Group (Pokdarwis).

The high demand for these cultural products was on full display Friday, June 26, 2026, as the village hosted 157 students from 11 different cities for a four-day immersive living program. On the exact same day, an influx of 52 travelers from Jakarta arrived via travel agencies for a curated experience package featuring traditional Osing lunches, lesung (wooden mortar) musical performances, and hands-on workshops in traditional coffee roasting and batik printing.

During these immersive visits, travelers stay inside authentic local residences and actively participate in the community's day-to-day lifestyle, such as baking traditional kucur cakes, learning regional musical instruments, and exploring local farming methods.

In tandem with experiential tourism, the community has scaled up its physical MSME product lines. A flagship item is the Kopi Kemiren Jaran Goyang, an artisanal coffee brand launched in 2013 that commercializes the deeply rooted Osing tradition of coffee drinking.

While the raw Arabica and Robusta beans are sourced from the slopes of Mount Ijen and northern Banyuwangi, East Java, the entire processing, roasting, packaging, and branding cycle takes place locally in Kemiren. The product is distributed through regional souvenir shops and major digital marketplaces at approximately IDR 40,000 (USD 2.24) per pack, alongside other local delicacies like klemben cakes and banana fritters.

This culture-driven economic model has been aggressively reinforced since 2024 through corporate social programs. Head of Corporate Communications at PT Astra International Tbk, Windy Riswantyo said that the corporate partnership in Kemiren is part of a larger national development blueprint that spans over 1,500 villages across 35 Indonesian provinces.

As of June 2026, the intervention in Kemiren has directly empowered around 300 residents, supported 50 local homestays totaling 92 guest rooms, engaged 40 independent local vendors, and trained 40 active members of Pokdarwis. Windy revealed that the joint program has driven a 33 percent surge in the average monthly income of Pokdarwis members, climbing from IDR 1.5 million to IDR 2 million.

Between 2024 and 2026, the Kemiren Customary Osing Tourism Village has consistently attracted over 3,000 domestic and international visitors annually. Beyond financial growth, the community development project encompasses sustainable environmental infrastructure, including community waste management systems, the recycling of livestock waste into organic fertilizer, the installation of two functional biogas units, and long-term capacity-building programs.

Since 2019, Kemiren has accumulated prestigious international and national honors, including the Wonderful Indonesia Impact award, the Anugerah Desa Wisata Indonesia (ADWI) prize from the Tourism Ministry, the ASEAN Tourism Award 2025, and a coveted selection in the United Nations' Best Tourism Village Upgrade Programme 2025. ***