A Decade of Surf Tourism in the Mentawais
Posted on January 24, 2007 @ 3:17 PM
Are we loving these islands to death?
Surf tourism in the Mentawais is undergoing a rapid and far-reaching transformation that will change the islands, the lifestyles of the local people and surfers' experiences of the Mentawais forever.
WORDS BY TIM BAKER
With a new airport, numerous land camps and a new Mentawai government keen to cash in on their greatest natural resource, waves, the once remote island chain is quickly morphing into a modern surf holiday enclave before our eyes. One startled visitor recently reported the slightly surreal experience of watching the State of Origin rugby league on a wide screen TV at the new Macaronis resort.
At the center of the changes is a shift from water to land-based surf tourism – with at least five land camps now open for business, several more under construction and even more major land purchases underway. The construction of an airstrip on Sipora, and a new air charter service direct from Singapore means surfers can now fly direct to the islands, eliminating the overnight stay in Padang and/or the overnight crossing by boat from the mainland. Overcrowding of the main breaks is also likely to reach new peaks this season, especially around the camps – at Katiet (Lance’s or HTs), Macaronis, Telescopes, Kandui and Playgrounds.
The struggle to control or influence the development of the surf tourism industry in the Mentawais is a long and sometimes sordid tale. These days, while most surf operators in the islands at least try to get along, it is the Mentawai government and its people who are rightly agitating for change and some reasonable economic benefits from the growth of surf tourism in their islands. New laws drawn up by the Mentawai government (but yet to be enforced) call for a limit on the number of surf tourism operators in the islands, with only five tourism licenses being issued. Each license holder would be allowed a maximum of six boats, with a total carrying capacity of 50 surfers (a total of 30 boats, or 250 surfers at any one time), and is also obliged to develop land-based accommodation. These land-based resorts would then control access and carrying capacity of the waves adjacent to their land. A tax of US$3 per day is to be charged for every surfer on boat or land, and tourists will only be allowed to visit the islands through a licensed operator. With at least five land camps, and perhaps an average of a dozen surfers each, that is likely to push the number of surfers in the islands at one time to more than 300. When there’s swell and those surfers are spread over a dozen or more breaks, the chances of getting a few waves to yourself are still good. When the surf’s small or the winds are wrong, and only a handful of breaks are working, crowds might well be comparable to Bali or G-Land.
While past attempts to regulate and tax the surf tourism industry in the Mentawais have floundered, this is the first time the actions are being instigated by the Mentawai people themselves. Yet, you’ll find as many differing opinions on exactly how this change should be managed as there are perfect waves in this surf-rich island chain.
THE SURFING EXPERT CONSULTANT
French woman Elizabeth Henderson (pictured below) had only been surfing for four years when she took off on a round-the-world surf trip. That journey eventually landed her in the Mentawai Islands, in the unlikely role of “surfing expert consultant” to the newly formed local Mentawai Government.
“They came to me because I was the only one living there that didn’t have a business involved,” says Elizabeth. “They’ve seen me come back and live with them, year after year.”
Elizabeth first went to the Mentawais in 2001 as a cook on a charter boat for the Surf Travel Company. Since then, she has been back every year, working as a cook, a surf guide, a SurfAid volunteer, and living on land with the locals for up to 10 months at a time.
During her last visit, she was teaching English to members of the new local government. “The head of the taxation department came to my house, and said he wants me to be their surfing expert consultant,” Elizabeth says, still sounding a little incredulous. “I got a bit worried – what is that? They want to find a way where they can have tourism but respect the way surfers think about having waves to themselves. I’m there to help.”
It will be a big job, as surfing brings enormous change to the once isolated islands. Prior to the discovery of surf there in the early ‘90s, it was only logging companies, illegal foreign fishermen, the odd yachtie and the occasional anthropologist, naturalist or missionary who visited the islands.
Sitting off the west coast of Sumatra, for years the Mentawais were largely ignored even while they were governed from the mainland. The government in Sumatra or Jakarta regarded the Mentawai natives as primitive and tried to ban their traditional ways, relocated rainforest communities to centralized coastal camps for easier administration, and transplanted thousands of Indonesians from Java and Sumatra to the islands. The result has been the creation of one of the poorest and most disadvantaged communities in Indonesia, with shocking health problems, little representation in government and few prospects for improving their situation.
Surfers at least hold the potential to bring some economic benefits to the islands, rather than just simply exploiting them like the loggers and fisherman have done over the years. “They’re starting to see surfing as a way out of poverty,” says Elizabeth. Already, the formation of medical aid agency, SurfAid International, has brought enormous improvement in the health conditions of many local people.
“This place is lucky. It hasn’t been destroyed yet. It’s like it’s been protected,” says Elizabeth. “The earthquake and tsunami hasn’t touched there. SurfAid started there, and that’s been very positive. I think surfers care a bit more, they’re not just dumb tourists. There’s a lot of people who care about this place. It’s a big karma place.”
Elizabeth has been back in Australia during the off-season with her Australian boyfriend, studying politics and journalism to help her prepare for her new role in the Mentawais. “I’ve done a lot of things because of the Mentawais. I’ve become a teacher, I’m in Australia studying. I like the idea of being devil’s advocate.”
But she warns that the newly appointed Mentawai government is excited by the idea of land camps and development. The surf charter industry has yet to bring many economic benefits to the islands, and the government and people are getting impatient. “The whole government goes to Bali and they see that … they want that,” she says.
“They don’t see the future for the boats, they really see the future for the resorts. They’ll give the licenses to the resorts, and it’s up to the resorts if they let the boats come there.”
It is definitely a time of change in the Mentawais. They have only had their own government for four years and local elections will be held for the first time later this year. There is a great deal of effort being put into stopping illegal logging and fishing, and one of the few non-depletive industries available to the Mentawai people is tourism, especially surfing.
THE UPMARKET RESORT
A new up-market resort at Lance’s Right, or HTs, has sent out promotional material, boasting of a five star experience – luxury villas, private plunge pools, king-sized beds, onsite masseuse, international cuisine and, perhaps most significantly, direct air transfers from Singapore to the Mentawais by 12-seater aircraft.
Surfers will be transported from Singapore airport to Katiet village in just three hours and be in the water that same day. This eliminates the overnight crossing by charter boat from Padang, and effectively adds a day’s surfing to your holiday. The so-called “Katiet Villas @ HTs”, operated by Mentawai Resorts, were due to receive their first guests in July.
“Mentawai Resorts is a wholly owned subsidiary of OMI (Onu Mentawai International) and we are the only tourism license holder who is a registered Mentawaian company,” says Steve Kelly, one of the partners in Katiet Villas. “All the other companies are registered in Padang. Our Chief Operating Officer is a well-respected member of one of the largest tribal families in the Mentawais, because of this, we feel we are held in high regard by the Mentawaian people.”
While they are offering a high-end, up-market holiday for visitors, he says their focus is bringing real benefits to the local people. “We are providing the local people (essentially the Katiet villagers), with good economic, environmental and cultural benefits. We are supplying jobs (over 30 local laborers and builders have been employed for the last year alone), job training (hospitality, cooking, cleaning, organic produce farming, site management, etc.) medical facilities, improving local environmental and health levels.”
Mentawai Resorts has also engaged the services of consultant Jess Ponting, who is one of the surfing world’s leading authorities on sustainable tourism. “With Jess, we have set firm goals and objectives to ensure that the area remains pristine and retains its natural beauty, whilst also delivering sustainable economic and social benefit to the local people,” says Steve.
Jess, who is completing a PhD on sustainable tourism, seems impressed by their efforts so far. “They are very responsive and seem genuine about doing the best job possible,” he says.
Consulting with the local community has also been paramount. “We believe one of the key ways to an ongoing happy relationship is to have a two-way communication and consultation with the local people,” says Steve. “We have to date been successful in doing this by consistently choosing to ‘under promise and over deliver’. This is quite different to what the locals have experienced in the past with many western operators.”
He also says they have no plans to claim exclusive use of the wave in front of their resort, Lance’s Right, or HTs. “Mentawai Resorts believe that sensible co-operation is the best approach,” says Steve. “We’d hope that if charter boat and resort operators could at least talk to each other – about where they’re going, how many surfers are already there, what the waves are doing and try to avoid overcrowding the break – then everyone’s experience will be that much more enjoyable.
“It’s not for us to determine if there should be a ceiling on overall numbers in the Mentawais. If it’s anyone’s decision, it’s one for the local government. But we do believe that the local Mentawaian people have, without doubt, been short changed over the last 20 years and their needs and rights have not always been taken into account by the Mentawaian surf industry.”
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