Jakarta (TAN): The Detusoko subdistrict is situated strategically close to Indonesia’s Mount Kelimutu, which attracted 80,000 tourists in 2017. A local young man is taking advantage of this fact to build an eco-tourism project.
Ferdinandus “Nando” Watu was born in the Detusoko subdistrict, Ende, East Nusa Tenggara in Indonesia. After graduating from Miami Dade College in Florida, US, in hospitality and tourism management, Watu decided to move back to Detusoko to develop eco-tourism.
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With Detusoko being so close to a major tourist attraction, Watu realised that tourists could be lured to explore the village after visiting Mount Kelimutu. Watu, along with his friends in the Independent Teenagers Community, founded Detusoko Ecotourism, or Decotourism.
“We ask tourists to enjoy the attractions of Detusoko. That way, they could experience something unique and interact directly with the locals,” Watu told The Jakarta Post.
Nando teamed up with several farmer groups in the subdistrict to combine farming and tourism, as well as with residents who open their homes to tourists as lodgings. He also helped youth in Detusoko to gain scholarships to study tourism.
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As mementos, tourists are able to buy local products such as coffee, peanut butter, orange marmalade and chillies.
Residents of Dekusoto are fond of Watu. Kornel Montero, one of the residents, said of Watu: “We are immensely proud of him.”
