Local Food Festival Highlights Residents’ Culinary Heritage in Seribu Islands

RRI.CO.ID, Jakarta The Seribu Islands Regency Administration in Jakarta Province, Indonesia’s Ministry of Culture, and the Orang Pulo Community have held a Local Food Festival in Kelapa Island to preserve the continuity of Pulo’s distinctive culinary traditions. The event underscored the importance of locally sourced food as an inseparable part of the identity and cultural heritage of coastal communities.

“The festival is being held to introduce the richness of local food as part of our cultural heritage,” said Secretary of the North Thousand Islands Subdistrict Head, Supriyadi, in Jakarta on Thursday, September 17, 2026.

Supriyadi said the festival provided a space for residents to learn about, process, and preserve local food products that have long been part of life in the Thousand Islands.

“The festival serves as a platform to introduce local food as part of the community’s culture while also encouraging residents’ creativity and economic potential,” he said, as quoted by Antara.

He explained that the event also served as an educational initiative for younger generations, helping them become more familiar with food products grown and consumed by residents of the Thousand Islands.

The Local Food Festival also provided early education for children, enabling them to gain a better understanding of local food products in the island region.

A variety of activities enlivened the festival, including traditional dance, pencak silat performances, and a steamed breadfruit bread demonstration. Attendees also enjoyed a traditional snack bazaar alongside competitions for creative dishes made from bananas, sweet potatoes, corn, and cassava.

Participants also attended a talk show titled Local Food as Cultural Heritage and a Pillar of the People’s Economy, featuring Head of the Jakarta Provincial Cultural Heritage Preservation Agency, Desse Yussubrasta. The Food and Drug Supervisory Agency (BPOM) also provided education on food safety.

On the same occasion, a member of the North Seribu Islands Regency Council, Sahdan, said the Local Food Festival in Kelapa Island had strengthened ties among residents. The event also created an opportunity to introduce the area’s local food potential to tourists.

He expressed hope that the festival would serve as a promotional platform for locally made processed food products. According to Sahdan, the better-known the Thousand Islands’ distinctive food products became, the greater the opportunities for developing the local economy and tourism sector.

“We want the potential of local food to become increasingly known among tourists so that it can have an impact on the community’s economy,” he said. ***