My Spirits Lifted

Hello =)

I'm a Canadian, living in Indonesia. My immune system has become familiar with many western bacteria and can defend itself there. Throw me on a plane and drop me on the other side of the world in a tropical climate with a different level of general sanitation and the result will be my last 2 weeks. I've been sick... diarrhea, vomiting, fevers, hospital and missing work. I was put on all sorts of medication, and this completely messed up my body. I couldn't sleep at night, and was nauseous in the day. I would stay awake all night, and hide away in bed all day. I think its understandable my mood wasn't too healthy either.

I'm now finally improving =) I've finished my last dose of medication, and no longer feel awful. I've been to work this week, and got back into the swing of things! Although I'm still playing catch up with my projects... as I only have one week left of my internship, I feel happy, just to feel good. (albeit the minor sniffles) I'm finally able to eat again, so I plan on gaining back the weight I lost. I look like a twig right now =P

My final task at work is to present at Binus University to a group of students and professors about what I feel - through my foreign perspective - is the current status of sustainable education and awareness in Indonesia. I've done interviews with students, professors and deans at the Universities, researched online and also experienced first hand by living here for 3 months. I would like to invite you all to see my presentation, as it obviously will contain more than I can write in this blog, but sadly thats not possible.

As the title of this blog reads "My Spirits Lifted" I would like to expand on this. Not only am I happier because I've recovered, but also because of two amazing and refreshing experiences these past couple of days.


Trashion

Meet Ibu Yanti...



I move out of my apartment at Poins Square today. (Goodbye swimming pool) Throughout my time at the apartment I collected all my dry waste. It felt unnatural to throw out my plastic bottles and everything I would normally recycle in Canada. For a long while I had no idea what I would do with all this stuff... it just sat there, waiting for someone like Ibu Yanti. Thankfully, while at a Language Swap gathering with CouchSurfers I was referred to "Trashion".


The main method in Jakarta for disposing of the plastic waste is to throw it in the river. The more environmentally conscious people give it to the garbage scavengers all around the city. This is her main source of recyclable material.




They take all such things as I collected and turn them into products such as Umbrellas, Bags and even Flip Flops.








Their first project was to completely revitalize their village. When I had arrived, it was refreshing to see a leaf canopy, and plants lining the streets. All residents in the area give their refuse to her. It was the first such green village I've seen in Jakarta.

Please visit her website at http://www.ardescolection.com to see more of her products.


Kampung Banjarsari

While working on my presentation for Binus University, I was researching for "green" community projects. One amazing example I found was Kampung Banjarsari - a small village in the heart of Jakarta, only 15 minutes from my office. It is a UNESCO pilot project for community based waste management. The pilot project has ended, however, Harini Bambang Wahono has dedicated herself to maintaining the village character and sustainability.

Harini Bambang Wahono, a 79 year old woman, is now known as the village head. She has created a classroom, where she invites children and trash collectors, and residents of Jakarta to come and become informed about environmental issues.



She teaches the trash collectors how to create lamps out of plastic bottles, so they can sell them for income (Trash collectors are among the poorest people in Jakarta):



She knows the benefits of many different types of plants. She showed me a plant that helps to cure Hepatitis (30 million people in Indonesia have been diagnosed with Hepatitis), a plant that absorbs the pollutants in the air, and another that is said to make you lose weight!



All waste generated by the community is seperated. That which can be composted - is composted.



With the help of her friend Dona Carmen - who holds lectures for children to understand the benefits of the natural environment, including oxygen production - and the cooperation of the villagers, Harini Bambang Wahono has transformed their village into a green living oasis in the middle of a polluted sprawling urban jungle.



And the awards prove it:





More photos of Kampung Banjarsari:

Click on album...

Foto Mister? Foto Misterr, Foto Foto!!

Jakarta - Week 9



Pulau Tidung

Remember Me?

Definitely put this one off far too long... Let's get right into it:

1) I've been focusing my time on reading as much as possible about all different aspects of Indonesia in relation to 'green building'. I’ll admit I have sometimes expanded to the larger subject of the environment as a whole and I've become most interested lately with waste and water management. To expand a little about these points, here is a good example:

Pulau Tidung - To the north of Jakarta there is a collection of small islands named the Thousand Islands, a popular weekend destination for most Jakartans, to escape the city and have an island getaway. That is exactly why we decided to go as well. We woke up early at 4am and got to the northern port of Jakarta. This place also functions as a fish market, so you could imagine the smell. It is an area in Jakarta that sees frequent flooding, so everything is in pretty bad shape. You kind of have to see it to understand it haha... and I know that doesn’t help you readers out too much. We got on the boat, and travelled to the island Pulau Tidung. It was a 2 hour trip by boat, and garbage surrounded the boat in the water for the first part of the trip. Later on it was much cleaner but when we arrived at the island we were all a little disappointed. The beach was completely covered with all sorts of scattered garbage, the water was hazy from the dumped sewage of the locals, and the trees on this small island were being chopped down. The fish I ate for breakfast, lunch and dinner came from the same sewage waters and the bridge from which kids jumped into the water was directly beside the toilet which empties into the water. We nicknamed the place “Garbage Island”.

Later we went on a snorkelling trip. Everybody was standing on the coral with their flippers, which severely damages the coral, which took many years to form. I got lost from my group at one point, and I was tired of swimming, so I hopped on a random boat. The man spoke English and told me how proud he is to be a resident of Pulau Tidung. His parents and their parents and his children and most likely their children are native Pulau Tidung-ites. His boat was leaking oil into the sea directly above the coral reefs. I pointed it out to him and he was embarrassed. Understandable, I trust he will fix it as soon as he finds the resources and money to do so. I asked him why the locals do not take better care of their island. He told me it’s mainly because they have grown up seeing the garbage and dumping the sewage and they know no different. Yet he did. I hope because of our conversation he will think more about the situation and do something to better his native island.

I do not get angry with or blame the island inhabitants for what they have done to the island. They are trying to make a living just as any other human being does, and they need to dump their sewage somewhere, and put their garbage somewhere. There is no infrastructure or awareness in place yet so they have no choice. I hope those readers from Canada and other more developed locations can take this story and appreciate the services available to them. There is no reason why somebody in Toronto should throw their garbage on the ground. No company should dump their by-products into the lake. We have a choice; we have solutions - so please be thankful of this and be responsible. If the locals of Pulau Tidung had a choice, I’m certain they would choose to protect their cherished home and keep it clean.


2) The pros and cons of being a bule (foreigner) in Indonesian – I keep telling people this would be an excellent topic to write a book on. As a bule I am instantly granted celebrity status and people act much differently with me than an average Indonesian local. In the beginning it was fun, but now I feel differently about it. I did not do anything spectacular to earn this celebrity status; I am an average person just like the next person in the store line up. I respect the hospitality of the local people, but many times I feel indebted to them. I am a person who has been raised to clean up after themselves, hold the doors for others and take care of themselves. Many times I have these things done for me, and like I said before, I appreciate it and understand the nice gesture, but I feel indebted to people. The paleness of my skin and the length of my nose (they like long noses here) have influenced my experience in Indonesia. It would be interesting to experience the country as a local, but that is obviously not possible.


3) My reports – As an intern with the WGBC I am required to write a report with a sustainable building theme. I am currently in the process of researching as much as possible about green building in Indonesia and trying to gain an understanding of the local building habitat. My report so far is going to contrast the GBCI Greenship NB (new building) rating system to the CaGBC LEED Canada NC 2009 rating system. I would like to provide an argument outlining the background attributes that have influenced the rating system Greenship. I’ve recently also become more interested in the housing here in Indonesia and how it can become more green. I’ve looked at vernacular architecture examples (traditional building) and how these practices can be incorporated into modern housing design. This new interest is leading me astray from the comparison to LEED Canada NC 2009 and instead I’m starting to become interested in how Indonesia could build green neighbourhoods with less of a modern western influence (mechanical ventilation, artificial lighting) and instead use local best practices in coordination with the Greenship Rating system. We’ll see where this all ends up going. It’s a constantly evolving project.


4) Humber College Co-op – I applied for this internship initially to satisfy my co-op requirements for my program at Humber – Sustainable Energy and Building Technology. I would like to hereby thank my program coordinator Kerry Johnston for posting this opportunity and providing me with my reference letter, all my professors and classmates who have educated me, everyone at the co-op department especially Lynda Jackson for helping me get here, York (Larissa, Natasha) and WGBC (Nicole) for providing the opportunity to come here.


5) Travel time – I have only a short 4 weeks left with GBCI and I plan to make the best of it. Unfortunately I missed a week because I got very sick – self diagnosed as Ecoli - (most likely because of the food I consumed on “garbage island”) so I’ve been playing catch up. Once it all ends though I have dedicated a month here in Indonesia to travel. I will be going east from Jakarta, across Java Island, visiting Yogyakarta area, Bromo volcano, Bali, Gili Islands, Lombok and hopefully Komodo Island. The traveller’s website I mentioned in my first blogs has helped me find many new friends here in Jakarta and I’ve enjoyed every experience with them. I hope to meet many of you Couchsurfers during my travels to enrich my experience in Indonesia.

That should be enough for now... Talk to you soon =)

p.s. Martabak is deliciousssss!

Happy Canada Day!

Just spreading the Canadian Cheer! Happy 143rd Birthday country of mine =)