Green Village Program, Kampung Banjarsari, Cilandak, Jakarta

Jakarta, Indonesia

GREEN VILLAGE PROGRAM, KAMPUNG BANJARSARI, CILANDAK, JAKARTA

BY HARYO WINARSO, TUBAGUS FURQON SOFHANI, ERIKA PARAMINDA, DUDI HIDAYAT

INTRODUCTION Kampung Banjarsari is located in Cilandak District (Kecamatan), South Jakarta. e area comprises 8 sub-neighbourhoods and in 2008 was occupied by 378 households and 2,026 people. e district is heterogeneous in terms of incomes, age and level of education.

Before the project, Banjarsari was a shabby and run‐down village, with no organized waste management system. e Green Village Program was initiated by Mrs. Harini Bambang Wahono and Mrs. Nina Sidle. Originally from farm families, the two housewives were driven by a desire to enhance their living environment, which was dr y and devoid of greenery. They began with a village tree planting program, which proved highly popular in the community. Villagers could plant any kind of tree, but were advised on plants with medicinal or other value.

Based on the success of this initiative, the campaign was expanded to target the management of domestic garbage. e two ladies built on the principles of the ‘3 Rs’ (‘Reduce, Reuse, Recycle’) by adding an additional ‘R’ (‘Replant’). In contrast

to the Waste Bank initiative, most of the garbage generated within Kampung Banjarsari is reused, recycled, and composted, whilst relatively little is sold. e project provided three garbage bins for each village household, conducted a cleanliness competition within the neighbourhood, established a program to convert waste into compost, and segregated garbage in order to recycle paper waste into marketable handicra products. By adopting these strategies, villagers could earn additional incomes through selling compost, or my making recycled products such as bags and cra items. Overall, the net volume of domestic garbage produced has fallen by 50%. e role of both initiators in this program was very significant; the original idea of greening the village came entirely from Ms. Bambang and Ms. Nina, and it 1

Jakarta, Indonesia

was they who implemented the project and fostered the community’s participation. Since its inception in 1986, the program has received support from the private sector, NGOs as well as the government, mostly in the form of training and workshops on management of domestic waste. e program has also won recognition through a number of competitions organized by government and private companies. e initiative has also been selected for a collaborative initiative with UNESCO and a national bank.

Enhanced environment Since its launch, the program has succeeded in creating a greener, cleaner community, with lower volumes of garbage.

Inspired by its simple concept, several other communities have invited the project’s initiators to train them so they may replicate the project’s accomplishments.

As a grass-roots initiative developed within the community, the idea has heightened awareness and taught new skills. anks to the program, the community has improved its knowledge of tree planting and cultivation, as well as domestic waste management.

Most importantly, members of the community gradually embraced their responsibility to work collectively to take care of their environment.

Although the overall number of low-income earners within the community has not fallen signi cantly, nevertheless many 2

of those participating directly in this project have benefitted through increased incomes generated by sales of recycled products. e project’s success is attributed at least in part to its champions, Ms. Bambang and Ms. Nina Sidle, who have driven the campaign from the start. They trained and prepared the community to ensure that others could take their place aer they le, and also worked closely with stakeholders such as NGOs, government agencies as well as funding agencies such as banks. NGOs have played an important role in training key actors and serving as a channel to link the project to several government environmental improvement programs. e government itself has also taken notice of this grass-roots initiative, and now plays an important supporting role as facilitator, especially at District level and through the Sanitation Agency. Various agencies now hold community-level training courses and workshops related to environmental improvement, and the government has expressed its interest in extending the program to other parts of the country in order to promote direct community action to improve the quality of the environment and improve solid waste management at local level.

the country, other communities are already engaging directly with Kampung Banjarsari. Its leaders have been invited to other areas and other cities to share their philosophy, present the project’s accomplishments and train new community leaders. As a result, several other communities have been inspired to adopt this program themselves. Such replication demonstrates the program’s potential to generate impact at a larger scale, at national level.

Back in Kampung Banjasari Ms. Bambang and Ms. Nina have planned well. By training and preparing the community, they have ensured that local leaders are ready to take over their role, ensuring continuity. e project has also interacted actively with stakeholders, such as NGOs, But as news of the success of government, as well as the bankthe Green Village Program ing sector. e role of NGOs is spreads across other regions of important in training key actors

Jakarta, Indonesia

and extending the reach of the initiative by offering channels to access several government environmental improvement programs as well as gaining international visibility.

fostering greater cohesion within the community.

Finally, the program in Kampung Banjarsari has proven self-sustaining, thanks to income from sale of products, combined with funding support from other parLessons learned ties such as UNESCO, Telkom The Green Village program is and Bank Mandiri. conceptually simple and easy to implement. e skill requirements are minimal and whilst the activities require organization and collective action, they require little or no investment. ese criteria allow for easy replication in other locations. Most importantly, villagers at Kampung Banjarsari have acquired a new collective perspective. e project activities have succeeded in encouraging a real sense of community involvement, development and responsibility,

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CONTACT INFORMATION

Johnson, Bjorn. 2008. Cities, System of Innovation and Economic Development.

Innovation: Management, Policy and Practice, 10: 146 – 155.

Haryo Winarso (PhD)

Luiten, Eric. 1996. Current Urban Innovations in e Netherlands. Ekistics 63: 176 – 181 Rogers, Everett M. 2003. Diffusion of Innovation, 5th edition, USA: Free Press Soderlind, Jerker. 1996. Urban Innovation in Sweden. Ekistics 63: 239 -248 Wineman, Jean D. Felichism W. Karbo and Gerald F. Davis. 2008. Spatial and Social Networks in Organizational Innovations. Environment and Behavior. Sage.

Program Studi Perencanaan Wilayah dan Kota SAPPK ITB (Department of Regional and Urban Planning-School of Architecture, Planning and Policy Development, ITB) Labtek IX-A Lantai 4 Jl. Ganesha No. 10, Bandung 40132, Indonesia Emial: haryowinarso@yahoo.com

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