Afbeelding
Lake Toba is one of the destinations that Indonesia is planning to develop among 10 new tourist destinations in the upcoming years. As the formal start of a future collaboration between Indonesia and the Netherlands regarding Lake Toba tourism development, we were consulted to share our expertise. Student of the Master Imagineering from Breda University, Rouaida Mahfouz, wrote a business inspirational report on the efforts of the local community, the Batak culture and their diaspora for bottom-up development of the area.
Living Lab: Lake Toba 2030
We initiated the Living Lab as a concept of a community-based approach in order to give a voice to the different communities around Lake Toba. With this, we try to integrate the specific elements of the Batak culture and communities in the Living Lab approach. The collaboration with the diasporas might result in a better understanding on how they can contribute to Lake Toba development, since they are very aware of the culture and mindset back in their homeland.
Lake Toba diasporas
By means of her research, Rouaida aimed to investigate what enhances the collaboration of Lake Toba diaspora. She collaborated with Lake Toba diasporas in Europe. Through a participatory approach, she gained more understanding about what is needed to enhance their collaboration with the living Lab, thus to their homeland and its development.
Results: tie the knot
After thorough research, 16 interviews and a creative session, Rouaida discovered 6 key findings:
- There is not one diaspora community for Lake Toba
- 4 types of diaspora
- Government somehow lacks in collaboration with the diaspora
- There is a cultural dilemma
- There is resistance when it comes to the engagement from other diaspora
- It is difficult to apply collaboration between Batak people
Download the summary of Rouaida’s business inspirational report to gain a deeper insight into how diaspora communities can play a role in the development of communities in Lake Toba.
