{"id":253364,"date":"2025-07-03T05:15:00","date_gmt":"2025-07-02T22:15:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ttrweekly.com\/site\/?p=253364"},"modified":"2025-07-03T06:02:47","modified_gmt":"2025-07-02T23:02:47","slug":"paintings-brighten-gaya-island-villages","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ttrweekly.com\/site\/2025\/07\/paintings-brighten-gaya-island-villages\/","title":{"rendered":"Paintings brighten Gaya Island Villages"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

KOTA KINABALU, 3 July 2025: A colourful transformation is underway on Gaya Island as water villages embark on a community-driven journey to turn their homes into vibrant tourism attractions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Assistant Tourism, Culture, and Environment Minister Datuk Joniston Bangkuai commended the Meraki Daat Initiative, a non-governmental organisation, for actively involving Gaya Island residents in transforming their living spaces into potential community tourism attractions.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"
Datuk Joniston Bangkuai launching the 2025 Project Picaso Art Competition under the Meraki Daat Initiative. Also pictured are Sabah Tourism Board product division senior manager Effendi Mahany (left) and Meraki Daat Initiative president Michelle De La Harpe (3rd left).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

This follows Joniston\u2019s first meeting with the Meraki Daat Initiative in 2022, where he encouraged the group to incorporate a community-based tourism approach into their project to ensure greater local involvement and shared economic benefits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Joniston, who chairs the Sabah Tourism Board, said such commitment aligns with the state’s vision to promote sustainable tourism, particularly through community-based attractions that showcase Sabah’s unique identity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Tuesday, the Meraki Daat Initiative team, led by its President Michelle De La Harpe, briefed Joniston on the progress of their ongoing Project Picasso, which aims to revitalise water villages and turn them into Instagram-worthy tourist spots.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The project focuses on creatively painting stilt houses and working closely with the Sabah Tourism Board to promote these water village destinations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In June, the Sabah Tourism Board conducted a workshop that brought together five water villages on Gaya Island, namely Lok Urai, Torong Logong, Lobong, Kesuapan, and Kampung Pondoh.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Joniston was briefed that these villages are now working towards formal registration to form Community-Based Tourism Gaya Island.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is a positive step forward. Pulau Gaya is a unique settlement with its own story to tell. Developing community-based tourism on the island will create value for the villagers, especially given its proximity to the city centre. However, it is crucial to foster a cleaner, safer, and more sustainable tourism environment. Local participation and ownership are key to this effort,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n