Community capacity for creativity-based rural development in a developing country: Case studies from Indonesia

This paper aims to investigate the extent to which a rural community develops a capacity to support the establishment of a local creative economy despite various limitations. This study employs qualitative research methods in examining two villages in Indonesia, namely Kasongan and Krebet. Our findings show that the community capacity and actor networks potentially spark the development of rural economies. Local communities in both cases have utilized cultures and traditions as creative capitals, which were commercialized through communal entrepreneurship and mobilized by an organized network of creative actors. Social values, namely a strong sense of belonging, high shared values and strong emotional connections, are found to be the key factors that foster creative potentials, entrepreneurial capacity, and capacity for mobilization of local resources within the rural communities.