Community Empowerment in Villages of Lamandau Regency, Central Kalimantan Province, Indonesia

Abstract

Community empowerment should emphasize community independence. However, many community empowerment activities do not follow the public administration concept in practice, emphasizing village community independence. This research aimed to examine the implementation of village community empowerment programs in three villages of Lamandau Regency. Data were collected through in-depth interviews and observations, then analyzed using a qualitative descriptive approach with an interactive model. The results showed that village community empowerment in the selected areas was not following the new public service paradigm. Services to the community did not take into account local values and local wisdom. The community was not given the power or authority to make decisions autonomously. In addition, community participation did not come from the awareness of the village community. Thus, in the future, it is hoped that the implementation of village community empowerment can be based on local wisdom following the socio-cultural characteristics of the local village community.