Gunawan Prayitno

1. South Kalimantan illustrates the development dilemma of resource-rich regions. Mining and quarrying accounted for 30.15% of the province’s Gross Regional Domestic Product (GRDP) in Q4 2024, wher...

Smart villages have evolved from early parallels with urban smart city models into a comprehensive, multidimensional framework that integrates digital infrastructure, agriculture, local enterprises, tourism, and sustainability. This expanded framework recognizes the unique characteristics and potentials of rural areas, moving beyond the urban-centric logic of technology adoption. This review aims to examine the conceptual evolution of smart village research, track emerging methodological trends, and analyze global implementation trajectories. In the early stages, many studies concentrated on definitional debates and approaches that were primarily centered on technology. However, more recent perspectives have begun to emphasize the importance of integrating technological innovation with social innovation, community empowerment, participatory governance, and environmental stewardship. Methodological approaches have also advanced significantly, shifting from conceptual reflections and single-case studies toward more diverse methods including comparative studies, bibliometric mapping, and participatory action research. These evolving methods enable a deeper and more nuanced understanding of smart village dynamics. Regional approaches demonstrate distinct emphases: European initiatives focus on service revitalization and smart specialization; Asian and African strategies prioritize connectivity, renewable energy access, and digital inclusion; while Latin American programs increasingly integrate climate-smart agricultural practices. Despite regional differences, common challenges remain, including the persistent rural digital divide, fragmented coordination among multiple stakeholders, issues of financial sustainability, and the emergence of new forms of inequality. Policy directions increasingly stress the importance of place-based strategies, building local capacities, establishing supportive governance structures, and fostering inclusive participation. The review concludes by identifying critical areas for future research, such as the creation of unified evaluation metrics, conducting longitudinal impact assessments, and embedding smart village initiatives within broader rural development and climate resilience agendas. Overall, smart villages represent dynamic and promising pathways for driving innovation-led, inclusive, and sustainable rural transformation.

Indonesia’s food estate policy was launched to mitigate the decline of agricultural land, address population growth, and enhance food self-sufficiency amid limited farmland capacity. However, the conventional model—dominated by corporate control—has often marginalized smallholders and reduced rural employment opportunities. This study proposes an alternative food estate model that broadens farmers’ access to land and promotes inclusive rural development through the involvement of pesantren (Islamic boarding schools) as institutional managers. Employing a mixed-methods approach that integrates literature review, in-depth interviews, and farmer surveys, the research investigates the feasibility of pesantren-based governance on redistributed state land. The model envisions state land allocation to pesantren, which then implement al-musaqoh (yield-sharing) partnerships with local farmers. Farmer perceptions were assessed using a Likert scale and analyzed through Importance–Performance Analysis (IPA). The findings reveal that pesantren possess strong potential to act as mediating institutions that combine moral legitimacy, social capital, and managerial capacity in food estate governance. Nonetheless, improvements remain necessary in pre-cultivation, cultivation, and support systems to ensure operational efficiency. By embedding Islamic principles of justice, cooperation, and stewardship within agrarian reform, this model bridges state agricultural policy with community-based religious institutions. The study contributes to the discourse on sustainable food governance by offering a faith-based institutional innovation that harmonizes productivity, equity, and cultural legitimacy.

This study examines the influence of social capital on economic autonomy in rural Indonesia, with a focus on the mediating role of community empowerment. Adopting a sequential exploratory–confirmatory mixed-methods design, we first conducted 12 focus group discussions and eight in-depth interviews to capture local perspectives, and then implemented a structured household survey involving 128 respondents in Karangpatihan Village, Ponorogo Regency. Quantitative analysis using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (SmartPLS 4) reveals that social capital exerts a strong positive influence on community empowerment (β = 0.66, p < 0.001), which subsequently enhances economic independence (β = 0.46, p < 0.001). A direct, though weaker, pathway was also identified between social capital and income generation (β = 0.32, p < 0.001). Mediation analysis confirms that empowerment partially mediates this relationship (VAF = 0.59), highlighting empowerment as a critical mechanism through which social resources are converted into economic outcomes. Qualitative findings enrich these results, highlighting structural constraints, particularly poor feeder roads and limited market access, which hinder the full benefits of social capital. To conceptualize these dynamics, we propose a Layered Conversion Model, in which social capital functions as latent potential, community empowerment serves as the conversion mechanism, and infrastructure constitutes the payoff ceiling. This model not only extends Sen’s capability approach but also offers a replicable analytical framework for evaluating the effectiveness of Indonesia’s village fund programmes. Our findings underscore the need to integrate empowerment strategies with infrastructure investment to strengthen pathways toward sustainable rural economic independence.

This study examines the role of social capital in enhancing adaptive capacity in tourism villages, focusing on Pujon Kidul Village, Indonesia, as a single case study centered on local residents. Although previous studies associate social capital with community resilience, empirical evidence remains inconclusive regarding which dimensions are most influential and how they shape adaptive governance in tourism village contexts. This study assesses the effects of reciprocity, trust in government actors, social networks, and perceived power on community adaptability. A quantitative approach was employed using Structural Equation Modeling with Partial Least Squares. Data were collected from 160 household heads through a structured questionnaire, with informed consent obtained and responses anonymized. The results indicate that the model explains 47.8% of the variance in adaptive capacity. Social networks and perceived power have significant positive effects on adaptive capacity, whereas reciprocity and trust in government actors do not show direct effects. These findings suggest that internal social dynamics, particularly, collaboration, empowerment, and community participation, play a more decisive role in strengthening resilience than institutional trust in this context. The study contributes theoretically by refining the concept of adaptive capacity through the integration of social capital dimensions with sustainability transition and resilience perspectives. Its novelty lies in highlighting the combined importance of social networks and perceived power as key foundations of adaptive governance in rural communities. Practically, the findings provide evidence‐based insights for inclusive and participatory rural development policies that support the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals 8, 11, and 13.

This study analyzes the condition of five livelihood assets in Ketapanrame Tourism Village to evaluate the implications of tourism development for household livelihoods. Primary data were collected through a household survey using simple random sampling, involving 350 respondents. Data analysis employed descriptive statistics based on a five point Likert scale to capture variations in asset ownership and access. The findings show that physical and social assets are relatively well developed. Most households have adequate access to housing, electricity, clean water, and basic public facilities, supported by a relatively high level of trust in village institutions and the village owned enterprise. In contrast, human and financial assets remain weak. Participation in training programs is limited, skills relevant to income diversification are unevenly distributed, and access to health insurance and financial savings is not evenly shared among households. A considerable proportion of respondents report household incomes at or below the regional minimum wage, indicating limited economic gains from tourism activities. Natural assets contribute selectively to livelihoods. Environmental cleanliness has improved, yet the productive use of village land differs across hamlets, with several areas remaining underutilized. These results indicate that tourism development has not uniformly strengthened all livelihood assets. The study highlights the need for targeted interventions, particularly in enhancing human capital and financial capacity, to ensure that tourism contributes more effectively to livelihood improvement. Strengthening skills development, expanding social protection, and promoting productive use of local natural resources are essential to support more inclusive and resilient livelihood outcomes in Ketapanrame Tourism Village.