Papua Mountains Encourage the Establishment of Traditional Villages to Maintain Local Wisdom

Wamena, Papua Mountains— The Provincial Government (Pemprov) of Papua Mountains asked the district government in eight local areas to immediately form traditional villages as an effort to maintain and preserve the values of local wisdom of the Papuan indigenous people.

This was conveyed by Amos Wandik in the handover ceremony of the Head of the Population, Civil Registration, and Village Community Empowerment Service (Disdukcapil and PMK) of the Papua Mountains from the old official Margaretha Rumbekwan to him, recently.

On that occasion, Amos emphasized that the formation of traditional villages is a direct implementation of the vision and mission of the Governor of Papua Pegunungan John Tabo and Deputy Governor Ones Pahabol, which put forward the principle of “Customs, Religion, and Government” in all aspects of development in the region.

“We encourage every district to immediately form a traditional village. This is important to maintain the cultural heritage, value system, and traditions that have been held by the people of Pegunungan Papua,” said Amos Wandik.

Not only that, Amos also revealed that his party is compiling a village or village cooperative program as one of the steps to strengthen the local community-based economy. The program will be implemented in all villages spread across eight districts.

“We hope that in 2025, village cooperatives can run effectively and be present in all villages, so that they can become an economic driver for indigenous people,” he added.

With the existence of traditional villages and cooperatives in this village, the Government of the Mountains of Papua targets the creation of a community that is culturally strong as well as economically independent. This step is also considered important to strengthen the position of indigenous people in the midst of the dynamics of national development.

This initiative received a positive response from various parties, including traditional figures and local communities who hope that this concrete step can be realized soon to maintain the identity and future of the young generation of the Papua Mountains.