Region-Specific Poverty Alleviation Model: A Qualitative Inquiry in Gunungkidul Regency, Indonesia

Abstract

Many developing countries struggle with poverty due to unstable and unsustainable development patterns. It is typically defined by income levels and the inability to meet basic human needs. Within modern governance, the success of a government, whether central or regional, is often judged by its ability to lower poverty figures. Because of this, poverty alleviation is consistently prioritized as a Key Performance Indicator (KPI) across all development planning stages. Moving to a more detailed analysis, the Gunungkidul Regency area is known as a barren area and always suffers from a lack of water to meet domestic needs. Meanwhile, the population is dominated by the productive age, which is 15-64 years, which is 497.35 thousand people. This means that the population in Gunungkidul Regency in 2023, the productive age population dominates. Then the location of poverty alleviation priorities in Gunungkidul Regency from 2022 to 2026 is determined based on the Circular Letter of the Deputy Governor of Yogyakarta number 401/0161 dated January 5, 2022, concerning the submission of 15 subdistrict Locus for Poverty Alleviation. In this study, 7 samples were taken, namely Nglipar, Tepus, Playen, Ponjong, Karangmojo, Saptosari, and Gedangsari. In this study, it is to find out the causative factors, existing conditions, and specific poverty management in Gunungkidul district. The qualitative analysis used was field condition analysis, social and cultural analysis, and descriptive statistical analysis. Overall, the conclusion of this finding is that poverty in Gunungkidul Regency is basically a type of natural poverty where due to natural and geographical conditions, some areas are the Gunungsewu Karst area, which is a conservation land, some areas need infrastructure to empower the community. The latest findings in this study are that there are several sample locations that are close to tourism zones, but poverty in these areas is still high due to geographical problems, and many more.