At the Open Space Conference at the beginning of April 2018 for the development of a Masterplan for Lake Toba, the idea came up, to start with a group of people around Tuktuk, they want to create homestays, offer trekking tours, or develop products for the tourists.
At the 24th of April than the first meeting of 15 people took place in Tuktuk in Tabo Cottages.
The History behind
Lake Toba has a huge touristic potential. But until today the access for the tourists and the offers of the tourists are very weak. The people around Lake Toba feel poor and they don know, how to create deals for the tourists.
By the first visit of Bayern International , the export company of the province of Bavaria, in October 2017 the CEO Jochen Heussler already saw, that Bavaria can help here with the experience of the development of Agro tourism. Bavaria was with this the the last 30 years very successful. It was getting the richest province in Germany and he said, that in Bavaria are more companies than Inhabitants. He organized delegation than for April 2018.
Already the first delegation was arranged by the Norbert Kehl, Rommy Fauzzi from the BODT with the help of Thomas Heinle and Sebastian Hutabarat
In the discussions out the resume came out to install a Sustainable Tourism Development Center for Lake Toba. The first draft of a concept was developed. Here you can read it.
In February 2018 than the YPDT organized a field visit of John Chisholm, the alumni president of the MIT. For him it was also absolutely important, that the inhabitants of Lake Toba getting empowered. He also will support this ideas.
Then also in February 2018 a Delegation from the Indonesian Parliament came to Silimalombu and to Tuktuk to research, what is important for the villagers around Lake Toba. We showed them the draft of the concept for the STDC-DT.
Also we discussed with them, that the Indonesia has absolutely to much regulations for Entrepreneurs to start a Business. And the Government staff don´t support the founders. They themselve don´t know the regulations. The regulations and the staff have to be reduced and 
simplified. We reported also about the corruption of the local government and how to overcome this. And Thomas Heinle explained how a Agrotourism could help the region around Lake Toba, that the inhabitants directly can earn money. He told from the beginning Cooperation with Bayern International and the contact to the MIT.
Also in February was the vendoors meeting of the tourist application Tripdixi in Jakarta. There have been more than 50 rural Entrepreneurs, which getting supported from this new booking app for tours and activities around Indonesia. There the Coworking with the founder Dedy Mykinson, Norbert Kehl and Thomas Heinle was established.
At the end of March was then the 1. Open Space Conference to develop a Masterplan for Lake Toba in Balige. One of the results have been that it needs local groups of Entrepreneurs to develop the Community based Tourism. Also Dedy Mykinson from Tripdixi and Rommy Fauzzi have been parts of the Conference.
From the 19th to 21st of April then the Delegation of Bayern Inernational (BI) came. After a field visit at the Sumatera Lintong coffee farm from Gani Silaban was a workshop at The Institut Teknoloi DEL in Labuboti, where Dr. Anton Mangstl, a specialist for Agriculture and Helmut Ramsauer explained his concept “Farmer to startups”, what he develope in “Silicon Vilstal”.
At the second day then have been field visits at the homestay in Silimalombu of Ratnauli Gultom, of Homestay Sidabutar and in Tabo Cottages. In the meeting afterwards with Entrepreneurs for tourism, Helmut Ramsauer gave the Initialization to start the next Monday with the first concrete meeting. Annette Horschmann invited all for this to Tabo Cottage. Rommy Fauzzi from the BODT 
fully supported the idea of this grasroot development. To develop the area it needs this kind of groups. Rommy Fauzzi already spoke with the Emporus of the HKBP and with the catholic priests that all the churches around Lake Toba can be used for it.
The first meeting
At the 23rd of April than it was the kickoff in Tabo Cottages. Around 15 people came. There have been people, they wanted to promote their guesthouse, their homestay. Others wanted to create a homestay or they want to offer trekking and other tours around Lake Toba or they want to create products and want to prepare the selling of it.
We started with a short overview, what can be done as the easiest activities to start and where already everybody can take out an Advantage. We have been focused then for the beginning in Wikitravel.org. This is a wordwide travel platform which can be edit by everybody very easy. Until now, there exists only one page for the entire Lake Toba and this was very witnessed. Some brought Laptops and others just smartphone. Collectively we started to edit this Wikitravel page for Lake Toba. Thomas Heinle worked out, how Wikitravel can help to develop a Community Based Tourism (CBT). We explain how and why to work with Wikitravel:
The results you will find in Wikitravel on the page for Lake Toba. Already at the first meeting we added around 10 accomodation, restaurants, products and also Itineraries. Also we updated a lot of outdated Information how to go to Lake Toba. We will continue there and spread the Information to everybody around Lake Toba, that at the end, each village has the own Wikitravel page. We will continue there, to make a page now for Samosir, than down under for Simmanindo and then for Tuktuk. It is just the beginning. Look online for the process or much better, just edit your self and spread the information to the other Kabupaten, Kecamatan and villages……..!!
Then Annette Horschmann made a presentation, how Facebook can be used for Marketing and we explained, how successful Airbnb.com can be used. At Monday the 30th of April we will continue at Tabo Cottages at 9 am.
The plan is to make the first Advertisement for a homestay in Airbnb and to identify somebody, who want to show this the others.
For the ongoing process we follow the ideas of the 1. Open Space Conference and all the meetings before. The concept we edited to a pdf:
If you want to join the meetings, than just send us an email to grassroot@laketoba.net
Let´s everybody feel the richness of the wonderful Lake Toba and create the paradise on earth!
……and at the 25th of May is a meeting at Bayern International in Munich to evaluate the Delegation trip and to plan, how to go on with the cooperation between Lake Toba and Bavaria! Following things already are in the discussion:
- Making a presentation in Bavaria in the Silicon Vilstal in June about Lake Toba. Show the products and the area.
- Regional partnership between the Vilstal area and Lake Toba. Maybe celebrate this in September
- Evaluate a knowledge exchange for tourism and agriculture
- etc…….etc……
