Presentation short abstract

This research shows that by mobilising internal and external solidarity, a local cave tourism community members manage to embed market mechanisms the Indonesian government disposes to them through community-based devolution.

Presentation long abstract

The Indonesian government proposed Gunungsewu, a karst landscape in Java, for UNESCO Global Geopark status and obtained it, using this as a geological conservation strategy to market the landscape and attract international tourists. Since then, the government has promoted community-based tourism at many Gunungsewu geotourism sites, including the Kalisuci Cave Tubing community, to generate regional income. This research uses the devolution framework as a neoliberal tactic, examining how the government, guided by market mechanisms, shifts socio-economic and ecological responsibility to communities and non-state actors. The primary research question is: In what specific ways do Kalisuci Cave Tubing members mobilise their sense of community to respond to the tourism market brought to them? Through participant observation and interviews with cave guides and managers, I find that the community has embedded the global tourism market with local solidarity in several ways. First, through self-organisation, the community structures labour divisions and delivers tourism services well. Second, they have built a vast network with other caving and speleological communities to update technical skills and knowledge on cave conservation and karst geology. Lastly, they have formed a strong solidarity to object to mass-tourism development plans from the government that could threaten the cave. This research suggests rethinking the necessary roles of state actors in community-based tourism: to what extent do we need the government to protect the landscape and community from market mechanisms?