Empowering Village Youths as Partners

Dwi Amang Supiyanto started Lombok Rafting by preparing the river. Unlike opening a land path,, opening a river route has to be done by breaking rocks. He had to spend tens of millions of rupiah for this purpose.

KOMPAS/ISMAIL ZAKARIA

Dwi Amang Supiyanto

The appeal of Lombok Island is not only limited to its coastal and mountainous areas, but also its rivers. Realizing this, Dwi Amang Supiyanto, 47, has made the most of the strong river current for rafting tourism. Amang set up Lombok Rafting in Batu Mekar village, Lingsar district, West Lombok regency, West Nusa Tenggara, around 16 kilometers northeast of capital city Mataram.

This special interest tourism venture has been running for about eight years. Amang, when visited at the Lombok Rafting headquarters on Wednesday (21/7/2021), said his company started operating in 2013. The idea struck him after noticing the potential of rivers in Lombok, which were not yet properly managed as are the island’s coasts and mountains.