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.”
{exp:allow_eecode}{embed="includes/square_ad"}{/exp:allow_eecode}
Send this article to a friend
Issue 67 Out Now
