A little over a decade ago, the neighbourhood of Jodipan (in the East Java city of Malang) was deemed beyond hope. Hugging the Brantas River, the area was considered squalid and unsanitary, with dreadful living conditions and severe infrastructure issues. The only solution for the local authorities was to demolish the whole site and relocate the residents to subsidized housing, thus cleaning up the river bank and eradicating the slum problem..
In March 2016 a group of eight students from Muhammadiyah University of Malang were asked to come up with a project to solve local issues. Their proposal was to add colour to the houses of Jodipan to brighten up the village. They got a local paint supplier to donate over 3 tons of free paint, and then they pitched their idea to the villagers who all agreed to go ahead. Within a few months, 107 houses, as well as neighbouring alleyways, bridges and steps, were covered in bright colours – all painted by the villagers, alongside local volunteers, mural artists and military personnel.
The goal of the project was for the benefit of the residents. And it worked. The makeover revitalised the community and gave the inhabitants a newfound pride in their surroundings. Household waste no longer flooded the river while alleyways and common spaces remained clean. There was no more talk of demolition and relocation.
But then, to everyone’s surprise, visitors started coming to see the Rainbow Village. The residents embraced this new opportunity and set up stalls selling food, drinks and souvenirs. Others found employment as parking attendants or in ongoing maintenance work. This unemployment hotspot was suddenly teeming with entrepreneurs!!
Nowadays, community members charge a small fee (Rp 10,000 / €0.50) to enter the village. The ticket sales directly benefit the community, with 80% of revenue going to the upkeep of the community infrastructure and 20% to fund the local waste management programme. The neighbourhood is maintained by monthly voluntary cleanups. Murals are changed, and houses retouched, regularly. Residents are learning languages to interact with their visitors!
How fascinating! A win win for the locals. Maggie
And from such a simple original idea ….
Wonderful story of a revitalized community.
It’s great that everyone bought in to the plan and saw the potential – they’d nothing to lose I suppose…
What a cool place!
It’s the biggest attraction in the city – they’ve coma a long way…
An uplifting story. Reminds me of JFK’s inaugral speech “ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country.
Regards,
Br.
The project has inspired other communities in the region – empowering them to address their own social and economic needs.
What an incredible success story – inspiring! It reminds me of the Communas of Medellin, but they were revitalised to a large degree through political measures whereas here it is the local community who took charge of the situation 🙂
Speaking of….. I’ve just booked Columbia for January!!! SOOOOOOO excited!!!!
Great story you shared especially for those of us looking for new places to visit.
Thanks and stay safe,
Steve
It has certainly added Malang to the tourist trail in East Java..
A truly inspiring story about a group of people who deserve more than readers about their efforts. Such a success deserves a lot of publicity and I’m so glad you visited it so that you can help spread the news about such a dedicated community.
Thanks Mari.I hope they can continue to build on their success….
What an amazing story and I love you pics. 😊
Thanks pepper – we were there less than an hour – I’d have loved more time to photograph all the little details..
Hi Marie
The amazing power of colour!
The Fab Four of Cley
🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂
The main road passes above it – there’s NO way you could just drive on without stopping!!!
What a literal bright spot you found, Marie! Inspiring to see how the grassroots proposal mushroomed into something that ended up benefitting the entire community. We also discovered a Rainbow Village in Taiwan this past spring.
Even apart from the back story, it’s such a joy to wander through these neighbourhoods.
What a remarkable example of how a simple community-led idea transformed Jodipan, bringing pride, cleaner surroundings and new economic opportunities without displacing residents.
It is indeed – not without some drawbacks I’m sure – no one expected the lack of privacy and influx of visitors into their lives.
I love this, what a brilliant story. It truly is the rainbow village 🙂
A great outcome – based on such a simple idea…
What a great story Marie. The thing is though, this is possible in many places and situations. It just needs someone to start it off, maybe an initial injection of capital and people will generally get behind the project. Everybody wins.
What a great idea to put the village on the map!