Rural Community Empowerment Model in Agrotourism Development

Abstract

The government needs to continue to appreciate by giving awards to agrotourism villages that continue to preserve and develop local potential including those who excel in food security so that they become role models for agents of change to improve welfare by developing community entrepreneurship. The research uses a qualitative case study method with an intrinsic case study type that discusses the dynamics and models of rural community empowerment in developing unique, interesting agrotourism and preserving local wisdom in Kaligua Agrotourism, Brebes Regency, Central Java Province. Data collection through observation, documentation and interviews with purposively selected informants, namely Agrotourism administrators and employees, farmer groups and small entrepreneurs, and visitors. Using case study analysis with the stages of reducing, categorizing, verifying and triangulating data. The results found that there are still problems in the development of agrotourism, namely increasingly narrow productive agricultural land, a decreasing generation of farmers because they are less interested and considered not prospective to become farmers, food products are increasingly difficult and expensive, the threat of imported products, and industrialization progress that does not support the agricultural sector. This requires a community empowerment program model for agrotourism development based on identifying and analyzing local needs, problems, and potential, with an action plan to strengthen the motivation and institutional orientation of community businesses, and ongoing outreach through training in financial administration, tourism, promotion, and marketing. Furthermore, the mentoring program will involve establishing a dialogic communication forum for planning, evaluating, and monitoring programs with various stakeholders.