By Ryan Dagur
STANIS Madur is busy weeding part of a vegetable farm owned by his Catholic parish on the outskirts of Labuan Bajo, one of Indonesia’s popular tourist destinations in East Nusa Tenggara province.
“We have a variety of vegetables here. Lettuce, watercress, bok-choy, tomatoes and more,” the 64-year-old said, pointing to vegetable beds, some of which were nearing harvest.
Located behind Merombok Mission Station Church, part of Labuan Bajo Holy Spirit parish, the two-hectare farm is situated approximately seven kilometers east of the tourist city in West Manggarai Regency, on the predominantly Catholic island of Flores.
The farm is a pilot project launched by Labuan Bajo Catholic Diocese to promote the economic growth of villagers and maintain environmental balance near Komodo National Park, a popular tourist attraction, according to diocesan officials.
The diocese was established in 2024, splitting from Ruteng diocese. It covers the entire administrative area of West Manggarai Regency, including the national park region, where the government is accused of implementing tourist projects despite their environmental damage.
Bishop Maksimus Regus of Labuan Bajo has repeatedly emphasized the importance of villagers benefiting from tourism while ensuring that tourism projects maintain ecological balance.
Even at this month’s 2025 Golo Koe Festival, a religious tourism event initiated by the diocese, he emphasized the need for inclusive tourism, including involving local communities to empower them.
The 51-year-old bishop criticized the dominance of those “with unlimited capital” and exploitative tourism development patterns, comparing them to turning Labuan Bajo “a graveyard for future generations.”
Early this year, in his Easter Pastoral Letter, the bishop said Labuan Bajo tourism can thrive “only if it is supported by a healthy and sustainable ecosystem.
“If development does not take ecological balance into account, the tourism sector will face serious threats,” he said.
‘A model project’
Father Yuvensius Rugi, head of the diocese’s Socio-Economic Empowerment Commission, said the project aims to foster economic growth, support tourism, and simultaneously help preserve ecological balance.
Labuan Bajo, the gateway to Komodo National Park, a World Heritage Site and the natural habitat of the giant Komodo dragon, has been the location for several government developments that have taken place over the course of more than a decade.
President Joko Widodo’s administration (2014-2024) allocated approximately 5 trillion rupiah (US$309 million) for various infrastructure developments, including roads, buildings, and ports.
However, despite experiencing 4.93 percent economic growth last year, the regency still recorded a poverty rate of 16.74 percent, double the national rate of 8.47 percent, according to government data.
Critics argue that tourism development projects overlook the needs of local people, who are predominantly farmers, and instead prioritize Labuan Bajo over the entire regency.
Tourism also helped hotels and resorts grow rapidly in the area, which needs 140 tonnes of vegetables a month, according to West Manggarai Regency’s Food Crops, Horticulture, and Plantation Unit. The entire demand is currently met by supplies from other regions.
Laurensius Halu, the head of the unit, said that this year, about 1,850 farmer groups across the regency have agreed to collaborate to ensure a high-quality food supply for the city.
The regency has some 276,000 people, but 78% of them are Catholics.
Halu said the Church’s project helping people come together and cultivate land “will go a long way because they couldn’t do it alone. Collaboration is important,” he said.
Rugi said Labuan Bajo experiences “high demand for vegetables.”
“As the local farmers increase the productivity and quality of their produce, they get good returns.”
For example, vegetable sellers like Maria Wulandari at Batu Cermin traditional market in Labuan Bajo, sources vegetables from Sape, in the neighboring province of West Nusa Tenggara, and Bajawa in Flores’ Ngada Regency.
“Only spinach and mustard greens are sourced from the villages near Labuan Bajo,” she said.
If vegetables are available locally, “we cut out middlemen and earn a decent profit. It is good for all — farmers, sellers and buyers,” she said.
Expanding projects
The community farming program is already active in a few parishes in the diocese, Rugi said, adding that they plan to expand it to all 26 parishes of the diocese.
The parishes “will utilize unused land owned by the parish and diocese. The program focuses on each parish differently, tailored to the results of the potential mapping of each region,” he said.
For example, St John Don Bosco parish in Gerak, Mbeliling sub-district cultivates organic vegetables, while St. Christopher parish in Waning, Ndoso sub-district focuses on coffee cultivation, and St Teresa of Calcutta parish in Datak cultivates corn.
The St Joseph the Worker parish in Lengko Cepang chose to cultivate sorghum as most parishioners were already doing so, the priest said.
Don Bosco parish priest, Salesian Father Petrus Tukan, told UCA News that the parish has some 1,330 Catholics spread across four mission stations in far-flung villages.
The parishioners harvested their first bok choy farm, and sold around 1,000 stalks during the 2025 Golo Koe Festival in Labuan Bajo from Aug 10-15. Each stalk was sold for approximately 10,000 Indonesian rupiah (about 60 US cents).
A stalk of bok choy weighing about 250 grams is sold in the market for approximately 6,000 rupiah, but the parish produce received “a good price” because of its high quality, the priest said.
“The workforce is composed mainly of Catholic youth. We have a hectare of land and sufficient water. We already have an irrigation system,” the priest said.
“The parish will conduct a survey of hotels in Labuan Bajo to determine what types of vegetables are needed, and those are the types the congregation can grow,” Tukan said.
His parish plans to develop fisheries and livestock businesses on an additional eight hectares of parish land, Tukan said.
Rugi said his Socio-Economic Empowerment Commission, both at the parish and diocesan levels, “are the initial drivers.”
“In some parishes the program is already underway, but some are still planning,” he said.
The diocese wants to emphasize that focus on spiritual growth also needs to ensure the socio-economic growth of the people.
Furthermore, it also demonstrates the Church’s commitment to caring for the environment, as Pope Francis has expressed in his encyclical Laudato si’. – UCA News
