LOCAL

'Everything is here': Somersworth's Little Indonesia district anticipates grand opening in May

Kyle Stucker
Fosters Daily Democrat
Deiske Toar, public relations assistant for Indonesia Community Connect, left, and Raude Raychel, president of the nonprofit, are excited to welcome people to the headquarters of the Indonesian Cultural Center at 156 High St. in Somersworth.

SOMERSWORTH — Indonesian Community Connect has found a location for the key starting piece of its plans to create not only the world’s first Little Indonesia district, but also bring together Somersworth as a whole. 

The nonprofit ICC will soon open its Little Indonesia cultural and community center at 156 High St., a multi-unit commercial building right at the southwestern gateway to the Hilltop City’s downtown.

Located at a well-known corner passed by more than 10,000 vehicles a day, the spot is intended to be a temporary, highly visible kickstart to an ambitious project years in the making.

“This is it,” said Raude Raychel, president of ICC. “Now it’s time to hustle up and get ready because it’s just going to get bigger and bigger.”

ICC moved into 156 High St. on April 1 and immediately got to work transforming the space in anticipation of a May 15 grand opening celebration.

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Raude Raychel, president of the nonprofit Indonesian Community Connect, left, and Deiske Toar, public relations assistant, have big plans for the Indonesian Cultural Center at 156 High St. in Somersworth.

Raychel described the unit as a major milestone made possible by a sponsor who has paid for the first year of ICC’s lease. That support, Raychel said, is on top of the residents and government officials in both New Hampshire and Indonesia who have firmly stood behind ICC’s efforts to create Little Indonesia in Somersworth.

“I’m so proud of the team for such great progress,” Pernus Tarasen, a Papua, Indonesia, resident and ICC board member, who chairs the nonprofit’s counterpart in Indonesia. “We have to learn to celebrate every achievement small or big because this journey is a history in the making.”

ICC is a local nonprofit group that celebrates and promotes Indonesian cultural heritage, bridging it with other facets of the community through various civic endeavors.

ICC and Somersworth leaders formally announced the Little Indonesia concept in May 2019 during a meeting with Indonesia’s ambassador to the United States. The project to create the commercial-cultural district — which would be anchored by a large welcome gate and a community center — is still in process and hasn’t yet received all of the approvals and funding commitments it needs from various Somersworth and Indonesian government entities.

The idea is to work with the Indonesian government to create a district that will promote Indonesian culture and businesses, aid Somersworth’s economic development and increase tourism in the city. An estimated 2,000 of Somersworth’s approximately 11,000 residents are Indonesian immigrants or of Indonesian descent, which when combined with individuals in neighboring communities gives New Hampshire’s Seacoast one of the largest Indonesian populations north of Manhattan.

“This project is really prestigious,” Dr. Arifi Saiman, the consul general of Indonesia, said while visiting Somersworth in February 2020 in support of the project. “We are very proud, especially for the Indonesian community in New Hampshire. Let this be the center of not only the culture, but resources where the presence of Indonesia is bold and well represented. We all should support this project that is founded by ICC Inc. because it is an opportunity that we should grab, for this is going to be the first one, not only in the U.S. but in the world. Work hard, make a solid plan, engage all Indonesian communities in New Hampshire and together make the country proud for the next 10 to 20 years.”

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The Gathering Place, a community crafters studio and resource for arts education, was the previous tenant of 156 High St. The unit recently became vacant when the Gathering Place moved to the 154 High St. unit next door, which is located within the same building.

Raychel said she anticipates using 156 High St. to create a multifaceted community center, erect a miniature welcome gate and fundraise, then move everything to a new, permanent location within the next couple of years.

ICC and Somersworth officials are still eying sections of Main Street, just a few blocks east of 156 High St., as the possible permanent location for Little Indonesia.

“This… is a representation so people get the idea,” Raychel said, her voice containing excitement as she stood in the space just 30 minutes after ICC got the keys on April 1. “The way people see it, it’s just going to grow and grow and grow.”

The cultural and community center will include an exhibition room visible through the unit’s large windows, and a multipurpose space for cultural events and other functions.

It will also include a food pantry supported by local nonprofit Gather to help anyone in need, career-building services, educational resources provided in collaboration with local learning centers and schools, shipping services, a gift shop, ICC’s headquarters, and more.

Raychel said the idea is to eventually use the center as a hub local partners can use for things like music lessons, arts lessons and other enrichment, as well as an afterschool spot for local youth.

In addition to placing a miniature version of the welcome gate at the corner of the property, which they’ll do with the landlord’s permission, Raychel said they also plan to feature artwork outside along with colorful batik banners to represent each of Indonesia’s main islands.

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“My mind just goes crazy will all the great things we could do together (here),” said Raychel, stressing the focus and benefits of the building won’t just be for people of Indonesian heritage, but for everyone. “It’s not just an ICC office, it’s not just a cultural center, but everything. Everything is here.”

The May 15 grand opening celebration will include a ribbon cutting, one of ICC’s popular bazaars, and visits by the Indonesian ambassador and general consul to the U.S., according to Raychel.

More information about the celebration and the Little Indonesia cultural and community center will be posted at indonesianconnect.org and on ICC’s Facebook page.

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“I am honored to be part of this project and ICC since this will be the first Little Indonesia not only in the U.S., but also in the world,” said Victor Pattianakotta, chair of the Little Indonesia project’s advisory board. “We are thankful for all the love and support we’ve received from Indonesian and U.S. government officials, city officials, local and business communities, and so many people from around the world.”