Sukunan, desa wisata lingkungan

Thursday was Hari Waisak, a national Buddhist holiday, so I decided to spend the day off visiting Sukunan, a small village of about 300 families that has become quite famous for their community waste management program. It was initiated by a villager named Pak Iswanto in early 2000s but has since grown in scope and participation. In addition to separating trash for recyclables, and reusing where possible, the community also composts and treats household wastewater. Several organizations, including YDD, have also worked with Sukunan to develop the technologies in ways that are useful and appropriate for the community.

Of course, in order to ensure sustainability, it requires the participation of all people in the village. This means good leadership and education is needed, especially for children. It's this socialization effort, activated by the whole community, that I found to be really unique and impressive.

When I visited Sukunan today with my friend Matt, we were hosted by Pak Haryadi, a villager who spoke to us in Indonesian the whole time. We managed to pick up the most important parts, but I definitely want to go back once my Indonesian vocabulary on waste management systems has improved...

Bins set up around the village that separate plastic, paper, and bottles. The far left is hazardous waste.
Every household has their own system to separate trash, but they can go to any one of these public stations to deposit. 

An underground waste water treatment system, which was installed in partnership with Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Yayasan Dian Desa (YDD) and Asian People's Exchange (APEX).

A diagram explaining the wastewater treatment system underneath all the houses.
Wastewaster is collected from 25-30 houses and is then passed through sedimentation and
multiple-stage biofilters before storage and eventual use for the rice plantations.  

A public composting station.
The entrance door is on the right-hand side (not pictured) and compost is collected from the rectangular hole at the bottom.

various composting bins

a beautiful kamar mandi!!

a urine-collecting station.
Urine, which is rich in Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Potassium (NPK) can be used as fertilizer.

A central storage facility for the community's separated trash.
These piles will be collected and purchased by waste collectors and recyclable waste facilities.

Students often come to Sukunan to participate in projects and try out new things.
This charcoal briquette, made by a Papuan student, can be used as biomass fuel for cooking.
Unfortunately, I accidentally dropped and destroyed this briquette right after this photo was taken :(

a composting site. this pile is almost ready!

The community also reuses coffee sachets and makes them into fashionable bags!

A ceramic pot-in-pot refrigerator. According to Pak Haryadi, it can keep vegetables crisp for up to four days.

They also promote the use of reusable pembalut (pads) for women.

Reusing paper to make the frame of a mirror.

A Saturday Before Work

Mornings are always filled with the same sounds. At about 4am the rooster starts crowing. I've learned to tune him out while I continue sleeping, and he blends in with the morning prayer. In addition to the rooster, our neighbors have a hen and four chicks. Before a month ago, these birds barely existed. Now they're the first things I look for when I leave my house.

Then there's Molly, a fluffy brown dog that's growing up too fast in her cage. During moments of heavy rain, you hear her whining, and your heart breaks a little each time. Kak Lidya decided to voice concern to our neighbors, so they recently added a canvas to cover up the exposed side of the cage. Molly gets taken out from time to time, and when she does, she goes absolutely insane, sprinting in every direction, jumping all over me. In the morning, like now, she barks sporadically. I've been thinking about dogs lately, and how nice it would be to have one. I'm not sure when I would be ready for the commitment.

Somewhere in the main kampung street, there are birds chirping happily. I listen to them until they stop, abruptly, as if they've moved on to the next neighborhood. Occasionally a motorbike revs up its engine: someone going to work or out to run an errand. And even further out, past the kampung, there's a dull roar from the main road of Monjali. Jogja wakes up early. A baby cries.

Path outside my house

Rifka stands off to the side, shooting me a stern look, and I love her for it. I know, I know. I need to mandi and get ready for work. It's one of those rare Saturdays when YDD has an international visitor, and I've been asked to come in.  This time, we have a management expert visiting from GERES, an NGO partner of ours based in Cambodia. Today we're going to discuss quotations for equipment we need to purchase for the lab -- a task I've been asked to manage. My role is somewhat important...