September 15, 2024, 6:31 pm | Read time: 3 minutes
A slum is not really a place that should be a tourist attraction – after all, they are slums where people have to live in accommodation that is often built from the simplest of materials. Now, however, one such district in Indonesia has become world-famous: the government has invested the equivalent of around 200,000 euros and transformed the Rainbow Village of Kampung Pelangi into a tourist attraction.
Whether stairs, roofs, walls, or railings, anything that stands firmly on the ground has been painted. With dots, stripes, patterns, and unusual pictures, artists have transformed a once desolate slum into a lively little village. Since then, the Indonesian village of Kampung Pelangi has been a hit on Instagram.
The bright colors in which the houses shine are intended to attract visitors and boost tourism. This is in order to help the small village get back on its feet. The Indonesian government invested the equivalent of 200,000 euros in the makeover, as reported by The Jakarta Post. 325-year-old, sometimes very run-down houses were painted in all kinds of different colors and lovingly decorated.
The plan seems to be working: Kampung Pelangi is experiencing some hype on Instagram. And the more people who see the photos of the colorful place, the more people want to visit it. The residents also benefit from this to some extent. Whether through souvenirs, street food, guided tours, or accommodation – the tourists also bring money into the village. For the residents, this is a first step towards a better future. The government would also like to invest another 1 million euros into the renovation of the sewage system and sewers.
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Village became an Instagram hit
There are already thousands of photos on Instagram under the hashtag #kampungpelangi, and the number is growing every day. People take photos of themselves holding balloons painted on the walls, hiding under painted umbrellas, or simply posing in front of a colorful staircase.
With the new colors, the place, which is actually called Gunung Brintik, got its nickname Kampung Pelangi, which translates to “rainbow village”.
“Hopefully, Kampung Pelangi will one day become the largest and most colorful city in Indonesia,” said the initiator of the idea, school principal Slamet Widodo, to “The Jakarta Post“. In any case, the first step has already been taken.
The original version of this article was published in 2017.