Sarikandi – a small village in Tanah Laut Regency, South Kalimantan Province
Sarikandi is a small, little-known rural settlement located in Tanah Laut Regency, which is part of South Kalimantan (Kalimantan Selatan) Province in Indonesia. The settlement belongs to Kecamatan Kurau district and is situated on the southeastern coast of Borneo island, within the larger Kalimantan region that belongs to Indonesia. South Kalimantan is Indonesia's second most populous Kalimantan province, with a population exceeding 4 million according to the 2020 census, and estimated at approximately 4.3 million residents by 2025. The province has a long history shaped through periods of local kingdoms, Ottoman sultanate trade, Dutch colonization, and Japanese occupation.
General overview
Sarikandi belongs to Kecamatan Kurau, which forms part of Tanah Laut Regency's territory. The settlement is a small, rural village in rural Indonesia, characterized by informal construction practices and agricultural activities. Tanah Laut Regency opens onto the Makassar Strait to the east and is characterized as a typical South Kalimantan region with its archipelago of islands and mainland areas. South Kalimantan is the fifth Indonesian province in Kalimantan and has historically been considered the cultural homeland of the Banjar people, although numerous other ethnic groups also live in the province, including the Dayak peoples (who mainly inhabit inland areas) and Javanese, who migrated from West Java through organized resettlement programs (transmigration) beginning in the 1960s. The region held strategic importance historically for trade routes, which were managed by the 17th-century Mataram Sultanate and later by Dutch colonial administration until the country's independence.
Real estate and investment
Sarikandi, as a small rural settlement, is characterized as peripheral to the real estate market. At the Tanah Laut Regency level, the real estate market is mainly locally traded and agricultural in character, with rice fields, fish ponds, and small private structures forming the basic foundation. Due to its location within the archipelago including Pulau Laut and coastal zones, the region has fishing and export-oriented aquaculture enterprises in some areas, which is relevant to land use considerations. South Kalimantan Province as a whole, where Sarikandi is located, has undergone intense development pressure in recent decades; however, infrastructure and real estate development in rural villages proceeds slowly. According to Indonesian land ownership regulations, foreigners cannot acquire full ownership of Indonesian land, only long-term lease rights (up to 99 years) and exclusive use rights (jus pakai) in limited circumstances. Sarikandi and similar rural areas primarily serve as targets for local speculation and agricultural-based local investment rather than international tourism or wealth preservation markets.
Safety and security
Sarikandi, as a small village, is generally considered a safe settlement within the framework typical of South Kalimantan's rural countryside. In South Kalimantan Province, public safety is among the more developed southern Indonesian regions; however, specific settlement-level data regarding rural village security is not available. The general trend is that in rural, agricultural Indonesian villages, violent crime and organized criminality are less frequent compared to other middle-class urban centers, though petty property crime such as burglary or vehicle theft may occasionally occur. Individual travelers are advised to exercise basic caution and refrain from sudden dealings with the local community; however, the area is not considered unstable or high-risk in any form regarding Sarikandi or Kecamatan Kurau based on current knowledge.
Tourist attractions
Sarikandi settlement itself has no published tourist attractions based on available source materials. As it is a small, rural village, the community is primarily home to local farmers, fishermen, and agricultural workers, and is not considered an institutional or religious tourism destination. However, in the context of Tanah Laut Regency as a whole, Pulau Laut ("Sea Island") merits mention, which is an island town in the regency's eastern, coastal-adjacent area and is characterized by its fishing and island lifestyle character. From South Kalimantan Province's capital, renamed from Banjarmasin to Banjarmasin in 2022, Sarikandi is considered a small settlement located further south, toward rural areas. The province's cultural and religious character is tied to the Banjar people and Islamic spiritual heritage, which is reflected throughout the region, including in rural districts; however, specific temples, museums, or public tourism infrastructure cannot be identified at the Sarikandi level.
Summary
Sarikandi is a small, rural village in Kecamatan Kurau of Tanah Laut Regency, South Kalimantan Province, on the island of Borneo, built upon the agricultural and fishing foundation of the domestic economy. The real estate market and investment opportunities are primarily local and agriculture-based; the level of tourist attractions is limited; and public safety can be evaluated within the normal parameters of rural Indonesia. The settlement's location means it is not considered a region of international tourism or urban-scale dynamics, but rather the home of local community and family-based economies.
