
Indonesia's 'YouTube Village' Banks On Homegrown Video Stars
Sumaira FH Published August 21, 2021 | 10:20 AM

Banyumas, Indonesia, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 21st Aug, 2021 ) :Siswanto was a down-on-his-luck mechanic until his improbable pivot to internet videos turned his neighbours into stars and vaulted his poor farming community into the limelight as Indonesia's "YouTube Village".
The rags-to-riches tale begins four years ago as he struggled to keep his auto shop business afloat in Kasegeran -- a remote town in Java that most Indonesians would struggle to find on a map.
He was cash-strapped and desperate for extra income to feed his growing family, but side jobs scavenging junk and soybean farming were not earning enough to pay the bills.
Siswanto eventually tried publishing short comedy routines over Kasegeran's glacial Internet connection after watching a tv show about an Indonesian influencer who made big money through online videos.
"But nobody watched them so I stopped," said the 38-year-old, who like many Indonesians goes by one name.
He decided that it wasn't his "fate to earn a living" that way until, one day, he was struggling to fix a customer's pricey motorbike and turned to online videos for help.
"Even as a mechanic I couldn't understand them," he told AFP. "They were too complicated." A light bulb went off -- Siswanto decided to make his own easy to follow fix-it videos.
Pawning the cellphone he shared with his pregnant wife, the mechanic upgraded and started filming non-stop.
"I was shaking and talking gibberish," he said of his early videos -- but after a few years, Siswanto had built up an audience of more than two million YouTube subscribers.
He keeps up a hectic schedule with a small editing team, pumping out videos of him fixing bikes or idyllic fishing trips at a local river.
Siswanto's booming business, which he said can make his family up to 150 million rupiah ($10,000) each month, didn't go unnoticed for long in the village.
Rumours swirled that the cashed-up mechanic was dealing in black magic, and some parents barred their kids from his shop fearing they'd be sacrificed for the dark arts.
"So there was a sit down in the village meeting hall and I explained that I have this business called YouTube," Siswanto said.
"Most of them had never heard of it." He offered free lessons to prove his story, and now at least 30 others in Kasegeran have built their own channels, some with hundreds of thousands of viewers.
Among them was Tirwan, a 45-year-old snack seller who used to make 50,000 rupiah ($3.50) a day hawking doughy dumplings known as cilok.
These days, he films himself showing off his cooking skills or hunting for graveyard ghosts, a big hit in the Southeast Asian archipelago where supernatural beliefs are widespread.
But he didn't immediately take to the spooky job.
"I was scared to go to the cemetery even during the day, let alone at night," Tirwan said.
- 'It's not an empty dream' - The extra earnings bought a faster Internet connection for Kasegeran, helping kids take classes online after Indonesia closed its schools to fight the coronavirus pandemic.
It has also been a big boost for local pride.
"Kasegeran was the poorest village in the whole sub-district, but now we're able to compete with other villages," community head Saifuddin, who also goes by one name, told AFP.
"It's an inspiration for the young people too. They're not using their cellphones for useless things anymore. They can earn money from them," he added.
Kasegeran's homegrown heroes say there's no magic to their success.
"It's not an empty dream as long are you're willing to learn and work hard," Siswanto said.
"And you have to be consistent."
Related Topics
Recent Stories

UN Says Alleged Use of Banned Landmines by Ukraine Should Be Investigated

Balochistan govt dismisses five doctors for not performing duties

Ukraine PM says EU-Ukraine summit to take place in Kyiv Friday

Pink Caravan Ride announces official routes for pan-emirate ride

Nigerian ex-senator accused of organ harvesting appears in UK court

64 held in combing operation by Rangers, police
More Stories From Miscellaneous
-
Macron roils French sense of equality with pension reform
2 hours ago -
UN urges 'greater efforts' to defeat armed group like TTP following Peshawar terrorist attack
3 hours ago -
UN urges 'greater efforts' to defeat group like TTP following Peshawar terrorist attack
3 hours ago -
Protesters stand ground as Peru congress mulls early elections
4 hours ago -
Rights group accuses Ukraine of using banned mines
4 hours ago -
Nigerian ex-senator accused of organ harvesting appears in UK court
5 hours ago -
Ukraine PM says EU-Ukraine summit to take place in Kyiv Friday
5 hours ago -
Terrorist attacks kill 28 in troubled Burkina Faso
11 hours ago -
Russia claims capture of village north of Bakhmut
11 hours ago -
China's tax and fee cuts, refunds, deferrals exceed 4 trillion yuan in 2022
11 hours ago -
Vietnam's traffic accidents down in January
12 hours ago -
Vietnam's trade value down 25 pct in January
12 hours ago
Education - Urdu News - Car Prices - Breaking News - English News - Live Tv Channels - Urdu Horoscope - Horoscope in Urdu - Muslim Names in Urdu - Urdu Poetry - Love Poetry - Sad Poetry - Prize Bond - Mobile Prices in Pakistan - PTV Sports - English to Urdu - Big Ticket - Translate English to Urdu - Ramadan Calendar - Prayer Times - DDF Raffle - Islamic Calendar - Events - Today Islamic Date - Travel - UAE Raffles - Travel Guide - Arabic - Urdu Cooking Recipes - Directory - Pakistan Results - Past Papers - BISE - Schools in Pakistan - Academies & Tuition Centers
UrduPoint Network is the largest independent digital media house from Pakistan, catering the needs of its users since year 1997. We provide breaking news, Pakistani news, International news, Business news, Sports news, Urdu news and Live Urdu News
© 1997-2023, UrduPoint Network
All rights of the publication are reserved by UrduPoint.com. Reproduction without proper consent is not allowed.