Selamat Pegi

My name is Dedi Wandra and I live Indonesia. I need to raise $400 to buy a laptop and I need YOUR help! Why do I need a laptop? So I can promote tourism in my hometown of Kerinci, “the secret valley” of Sumatra.

Caption: Me (middle) with some people from my village in traditional clothes.

ABOUT ME

I am born and raised in Kerinci, Indonesia and for the past 10 years I have worked in the tourism industry in my country. I have a degree in Tourism from and worked for a few years as a tour guide operator in Bali. While I loved working in Bali and I missed my home and also thought: “I bet people would love to come explore Kerinci too”! So I moved back to Kerinci and started a family.

Caption: Me with my beautiful wife, Rani, and two-year old son, Xano

I worked for the Department of Tourism and Culture for a number of years where I studied and analyzed tourism in Kerinci. While I worked there I was also the translator for US and European ambassadors, the World Bank, and even UNESCO. I saw that there needed to also be private businesses to promote tourism in Kerinci. So I left my job and managed a successful hostel in Kerinci and met many incredible travelers from all over the world. While travelers are slowly coming to visit Kerinci, there’s still even more people who want to come but are afraid because there aren’t online resources about Kerinci or many options of places to stay in the area. But I want to help bring them here by creating a website and a larger homestay.

Caption: Translating for ambassadors from World Bank
(I’m in the second row, behind the two men in the middle)

“THE SECRET VALLEY”

Kerinci valley, dubbed “the secret valley” by the Dutch in the 1900s, is in central Sumatra between Mt. Raya and Mt. Kerinci. Kerinci is filled with rich biodiversity and agriculture. As an isolated place in Indonesia it contains it’s own unique history and culture. Did you know that Kerinci people are known for being impervious to metals? We have a festival every year where performers will stab themselves with knives but instead of cutting into themselves, the knives break! They also do other performances like dancing on glass without injury and walking on eggs.

Caption: Performers dressed in traditional gear during one of our festivals.

Along with a rich cultural heritage, Kerinci also has a strong agricultural presence. We produce 40% of the world’s cinnamon. There are tea plantations everywhere along with farms growing cabbages, carrots, papaya, guava and a variety of other foods.

Caption: I taught some friends how cinnamon is made: first you cut it very carefully from a cinnamon tree.

In Kerinci there are jungles where tigers roam, secret waterfalls that you can explore, and relaxing hot springs that are perfect after a long day of trekking.

Caption: A photo I took of Mt. Kerinci, there’s steam coming out at the top because it’s a volcano!

Caption: Canoeing on Lake Kerinci

Caption: We even have tigers roaming the jungle, but they are very shy!

So Kerinci is perfect for tourism but we are eager and excited to have travelers come and visit us! But the problem is that there are less than 5 homestays / hostels in Kerinci and only a handful of websites which don’t detail much information about Kerinci and how to get here (most travelers take an 8 hour bus ride from Padang or Jambi to get here).

WHAT’S NEXT?

To achieve my dreams now I need a laptop, unfortunately my laptop broke a few months ago and I don’t have the money to replace it. I’m looking to raise $400 for a laptop and I need YOUR help! As someone who is passionate about the tourism industry and deeply loves my hometown and all the people who live there, a laptop will drastically not only improve my life of everyone in Kerinci. With a laptop I can:

• Create social media pages to reach more people
• Create a website on spread the word about Kerinci
• Educate Kerinci people on tourism
• Conduct research on what tourists want in a homestay
• Help Kerinci people have a better life 😊

Caption: Me after a successful climb on Mt. Kerinci. You can come climb the mountain too!

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this!

Terima kasih (Thank you),

Dedi Wandra