Community Spaces

GINNYA PRYSCILLA UND PRAYUDI SUDIARTO - MASTER THESIS ARCHITEKTUR - WINTER 2022/2023

Papela used to be a hamlet and became an independent village in 2016. Since then, it has gotten its budget from the local government to improve their infrastructure, focusing on building more livable housing, facilities to support clean water and healthcare development, as well as road construction for better accessibility for emergencies.

The village is divided into 4 sub-villages: Tanjung Pasir, Tasisu, Anlaso and Manulalulean. Approximately 2.189 people are living in the village, 83% of whom depend on marine resource activities, the rest on agriculture and livestock. However, the land in Papela Village is dry and infertile, making it less than ideal for agricultures. Regarding their level of education, before 2005 most of the fishermen only finished primary school and then went directly to the sea. However, the number has slightly increased since 2010. The village has two main religions: Islam and Protestant, with the majority of the population being Muslim. Papela Village has no clinic or hospital, but each hamlet has its own (non-formal) integrated health centre that focuses on maternal and child health.

After identifying the existing problems in Papela, we looked to other fishing communities for more sustainable livelihoods. In several villages, we learned that NGOs can support the community by raising awareness about sustainable coastal fisheries and providing training on solutions to specific problems. Others can also support fishing communities by suggesting livelihood diversification so they are not solely dependent on the fishing sector. If it is difficult to reach the community individually, one can also approach the tribal leader as the local activator and have them share the knowledge with their community.

There are three aspects that could help to counter the poverty trap in Papela Village: Education, Gender Equality, and Alternative Livelihood. While formal education is not considered a critical aspect in a fishing community, non-formal education could be one approach. Since poverty trap is more common in households of offshore fishers, women in these households could be encouraged to seek for additional income. Fishing is not a stable source of income. Therefore, other local alternative livelihoods could be a solution to this problem. From these aspects, the architectural solution could be by providing them with a Community Space for education purposes, as a marketplace for small-scale businesses, or as a working place.

By observing, interviewing, and documenting the inhabitants, a deeper understanding of their needs and challenges could be identified to give hints of possible solutions through architectural interventions. Besides acknowledging their needs, focus group discussion with fishermen and their wives was a great tool to provide them the room to express their opinion and explore the possibilities that could work for an intervention.

Building on these findings, the thesis proposes an architectural design strategy for a network of community spaces that support informal education, skill development, and social interaction. The design integrates functions such as learning environments, spaces for work and leisure, sports facilities, and small-scale forestry initiatives. Emphasizing low-tech and locally adaptable construction principles, the project explores structural systems that respond to the climatic conditions and available resources of the region.