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MASTERS OF OUR OWN LAND
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I am at the port. Where are you?
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The tourists who come to Raja Ampat
usually stay at the resorts owned by
outside investors, business people.
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They (investors) come to Raja Ampat to
make money out of Raja Ampat,
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and take it away to where they come from.
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So, I thought, "as a son of Raja Ampat, I
own the place, I should be like them."
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If I may say, Raja Ampat is like a newborn
baby, that has suddenly become a celebrity.
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And what people are looking for is its
sexiness.
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When the sexiness is gone, what will
Raja Ampat be?
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The resorts are owned by investors with
big capital.
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They can buy out customary land with
their money and the people become the
victims.
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Therefore we don't want any more
resorts here.
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I used to go fishing at night and sell my
fish to the resorts.
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At what price? Only enough to buy food
for a day. There was nothing left for the
next day.
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So, I built this homestay to give me
enough income.
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I didn't have money. I didn't have anyone
to back me up.
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But I had wood, which can be found in
abundance in Raja Ampat.
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There's also a lot of rattan rope here.
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There's also a lot of natural material for
roofing here.
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My ancestors and even my parents use it.
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Even God provides the land, ready to use.
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So, I built a homestay and the outcome
has been good for me.
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Locals have built the homestays in
Raja Ampat.
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Before, the young people of Raja Ampat,
especially those from Meosmanswar
and South Waigeo, worked at the resorts.
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They learnt about tourism while working
in the resorts.
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Once they understood tourism, they decided
to quit and open their own homestays.
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Year after year, the number of homestays
has increased.
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Today there are 55 homestays.
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After two years, an investor came and
asked my staff, "Who owns the homestay?"
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They said, "Mr. Matias Mayor owns it."
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But perhaps because I didn't look neat
or dashing, he did not believe it.
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So he asked again and they answered,
"He owns the homestay - Mr. Matias Mayor."
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He then opened his suitcase. I saw red
(100,000 rupiah bills) and blue
(50,000 rupiah bills) money in it.
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But I thought to myself, "What is the
value of that money?"
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If he pays me 200 million rupiah ($20,000)
and I distribute it to all my family members,
the money would be gone in a week.
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I want to be an entrepreneur and I want to
be, what we call "Ember", the master of
our own land.
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I have a big dream. In the near future, two
or three years from now, my homestay
will be like the resorts.
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And I will have many staff from the villages
around here,
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so we can all work together here and make a living.
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