Forget about your Unicorn Frappuccinos and Rainbow Donuts. No multicolored food trend could possibly hold a candle to the charming prismatic perfection of this village in Indonesia
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Located in the city of Semarang in Central Java, it’s been named “Kampung Pelangi” (which means Rainbow Village) and already features over 232 brightly-colored homes located in South Semarang’s hillside Wonosari Village.
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The idea to give the neighborhood a rainbow renovation came from community leader and high school principal Slamet Widodo, who noticed a stark contrast between the main business in the area and the housing behind it.
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“This was once a slum village. Although the front of the neighborhood contains a luxury flower market, the back used to look like a slum,” Slamet told Detik, noting that part of the goal of the renovation project was to turn the area into a tourist attraction.
Slamet said that he was inspired by other villages in Indonesia that have undertaken similar renovation projects, such as Kampung Tridi in Malang and Kampung Kali Code in Yogyakarta (which in turn were probably influenced by the colorful makeovers given to some favela slums in Rio di Janeiro). But he thinks the unique hillside location of Kampung Pelangi, which gives visitors a great view of all the colorful buildings, would make it into the most successful in Indonesia in terms of attracting tourists.
All buildings involved in the project had to feature at least three colors, with parks and benches also getting the rainbow treatment. Local artists have contributed plenty of amazing Instagram-ready murals as well.
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Slamet said one of the benefits of the beautification project is that it has made people in the village more mindful of maintaining the neighborhood’s cleanliness.
“The atmosphere here is different now, it seems like the colors have influenced people’s awareness about the area’s cleanliness emerged before they had to be persuaded to keep things clean, now they are more self-conscious,” he said.
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The local government gave a budget of Rp 300 million (US$22,500) to support the project, but community involvement and donations helped raise it into the billions. The Semarang chapter of the Indonesian Builders Association donated paints and volunteer workers to help realize the project as well.
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Although the project only started about a month ago and there are still more building to be painted, Kampung Pelangi is already attracting plenty of visitors from Indonesia and even a few from abroad, no doubt drawn to the off-the-charts Instagrammability of the village.
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