Four years ago, a farmer group in rural Banyuwangi was pulling in Rp1.9 billion a year. Today that number is Rp11.9 billion — a six-fold jump, built on organic dragon fruit and a village that refused to let go of its culture.

At a glance

• Farmer group revenue: Rp1.9 billion → Rp11.9 billion (4 years)
• Harvest volume: 316 tons → 595 tons
• Export markets: Singapore and Hong Kong
• Award: ASEAN Tourism Award 2025.

What is Desa Sejahtera Astra Banyuwangi?

Desa Sejahtera Astra Banyuwangi is a two-village development program in East Java run by Astra since 2024, covering Desa Kemiren and Desa Sumbermulyo. In Kemiren, the focus is cultural preservation — homestays, the Gandrung dance, and the Barong Ider Bumi ritual, all rooted in Osing tradition. In Sumbermulyo, the focus is agriculture: organic dragon fruit grown for export, sold fresh or processed into dried snacks. Together, the two villages form one economic ecosystem where heritage tourism funds culture and farming funds livelihoods.

How Did Dragon Fruit become an export product ?

Sumbermulyo's farmers didn't just grow more dragon fruit — they diversified what they sold. Fresh fruit still moves, but so does Sale Buah Naga, a dried dragon fruit slice snack, and a dehydrated version aimed at longer shelf life for overseas buyers. That product mix is what pushed harvest volume from 316 tons to 595 tons and opened doors into Singapore and Hong Kong retail.

The jump wasn't overnight. It took four years of steady organic farming practices and consistent export-quality standards before international buyers came knocking.

What makes Kemiren's culture part of the business model?

Walk into Kemiren and you'll hear it before you see it: the clack and thud of Gedhogan, a traditional rhythm played on a wooden rice mortar, or lesung, by rows of women in black Osing dress. It's not a staged show  it's a real cultural practice that now doubles as a tourism draw, alongside homestays run directly by residents and batik workshops where visitors watch fabric get dyed by hand.

“This isn't a miracle  it's the result of a community that never stopped protecting what it has, paired with a belief that a village can be a real economic force’ said Mohammad Edy Saputro, the program driver for Desa Sejahtera Astra Kemiren. 

That mix of preserved tradition and hard agricultural numbers is likely why Kemiren picked up the ASEAN Tourism Award 2025 and a spot in the Best Tourism Village Upgrade 2025 program — recognition that rarely goes to villages known only for farm output.

Why does this matter beyond Banyuwangi?

The surprising part isn't the revenue jump — it's that culture and commerce didn't compete here, they compounded each other. Kemiren's tourism income doesn't dilute Osing identity; it funds the very rituals and homestays that keep the identity alive. That's a rare outcome for rural development programs, which more often trade heritage for growth rather than growing because of it.

For young Indonesians who associate "village economy" with stagnation, Desa Sejahtera Astra Banyuwangi is a live counterexample: a place where a centuries-old ritual and a Hong Kong supermarket shelf exist because of the same four-year plan.