Bands: Navicula, Geekssmile, Scared of Bums, Ripper Clown (Denpasar), Morfem (JKT), Iksan Skuter (JKT)

Teater Kini Berseri, Mural Komunitas Djamur – ISI Denpasar, Painting exhibition Made Bayak.

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The Bali provincial government vowed in 2010 that Bali would be free of plastic waste by 2013, yet plastic waste is piling up at the rate of 1600 tons per day, an increase of more than 200% from last year’s plastic statistics. Villages are polluted and water-ways are choked with plastic. Instead of moving forward, the situation has gone from bad to worse.

Recent media coverage is reflecting a rising tide of public opinion: the plastic waste situation in Bali is dire and dirty. On 22 April 2012, the world’s top surfer Kelly Slater slammed Bali’s dirty beaches, saying ‘the pollution was unbelievable’ and would make it ‘impossible to surf here in a few years’:

The front page of the Bali Daily also featured a photo of a giant ‘ever-expanding’ illegal dumpsite in the mangroves of Nusa Dua highlighting environmentalists’ view of the government-sponsored program as ‘ineffective.’

Of course we can’t forget Time magazines dramatic piece titled “Holiday in Hell: Bali’s Ongoing Woes”.  This negative exposure pressured the local government into investing in two large waste management machines used to clean up Kuta Beach. In addition to the environmental costs, this coverage will take its toll on Bali tourism. Yet the government is yet to respond. So what has the Bali government achieved since 2010 to make Bali plastic-free?

The Perda (Local Government Regulation) to implement the government’s 2010 vision outlined a program that would facilitate and engage communities to reduce, reuse and recycle (the 3 Rs) plastic including ‘stopping plastic at its source.’ It included plans for a task force to supervise recycling, infrastructure to collect it and technology to create fuel from plastic. In the three years to date evidence resulting from these initiatives, that focus reusing and recycling, is lagging.

So what about waste reduction? Surely ‘stopping plastic at is source ‘, rather than creating waste in the first place, would be the most effective method of tackling the waste problem. Instead the government wants to provide incentives to retailers to supply so-called degradable bags. However, promoting degradable bags will actually increase the overall amount of plastic waste as shoppers believe these bags are an environmentally-friendly option, and will not bother trying to reduce their use.

The ugly truth is that degradable bags do not fully degrade, especially in humid climates such as Indonesia. Even in environments where this type of plastic does break down successfully, bags only decompose into microfragments of plastic that remain in the environment. This is merely a cosmetic solution that has dangerous long-term consequences and costs to both human and environmental health.

Degradable bags contain high levels of heavy metals to promote degradation. These toxins are introduced into the food chain; seeping into farming land and poisoning the many animals and marine life that ingest them.

So, what can the Bali government do to make a dent in plastic waste before the 2013 deadline?  One proposed solution is to simply ban the bag. If India and China, the world’s largest emerging consumer nations, can do it then so can Bali.

Last year the idea of a bag ban gained some momentum in Bali via the Responsible Retailer Roundtable, a coalition of government, retailers and green groups. Retailers were willing to comply with the ban as long as the government enforced it. However, the idea was dead in the water when the government took no action to implement the ban.

Banning the bag is an obvious first step in addressing Bali’s garbage problem, but such a sweeping measure requires strong government commitment to enforce it along with widespread public support. At this point in time, the Balinese Government has neither.  Rather, it has an island of 3.5 million inhabitants who have become dependent on single-use plastic bags, and who expect the government to make the garbage disappear.

This state of affairs requires an integrated policy to support a progressive phase-out of single use plastic bags. Such a policy might include an initial bag tax, strictly enforced regulations and fines for illegal dumping as well as increased public education about the obvious need to clean up Bali.

Single-use plastic bags are the #1 consumer item in the world. They are used often for only minutes, but can pollute the environment for over 1000 years.

Bali Cantik Tanpa Plastik campaigns for a plastic free Bali through education and art. One of their efforts is to release the song “Tolak Tas Kresek” (refuse plastic bags) written and recorded by Navicula frontman, Gede Robi Supriyanto (Robi Navicula). The song is available for free download below, and is free for use in efforts to support a plastic free Bali. Download “Tolak Tas Kresek” here:

Berkumpul, bermain, memanfaatkan barang bekas di taman. Mewujudkan imajinasi tentang sebuah kota.

Kardus-kardus dan kotak-kotak bekas makanan bisa ikut tampil dalam sebuah panggung taman hijau. Mereka memperkenalkan diri sebagai sebuah kota yang padat. Kota dalam taman.

Lalu bagaimana jika robot, monster, dan berbagai mainan ikut hadir? Entahlah.
Tapi yang pasti sebuah cerita dan peristiwa bisa terjadi.

Kegiatan ini bertolak dari ide yang sederhana. Errik Irwan Wibowo, seorang arsitek muda, saat sedang bercengkerama di Lapangan Puputan Renon melihat kardus-kardus dan kotak makanan yang mau dibuang. “Rasanya sayang betul. Lalu tiba-tiba saja muncul imajinasi seolah yang saya pandangi bukanlah dus-dus dan kotak-kotak tak berguna, tapi tumpukan bangunan,” kata Errik.

Errik mengatakan ada banyak benda terbuang lain yang masih bisa diberi kesempatan tampil di taman. Mereka didandani layaknya bangunan yang gemar bersolek. “Menarik juga kalau orang-orang tak dikenal, yang malu-malu tapi ikut terlibat mendandani dus-dus dan kotak itu,” kata Errik.

Kegiatan ini merupakan pengembangan dari apa yang terjadi pada Minggu (29/4) sore lalu di Lapangan Renon. Errik dan kawan-kawannya mengumpulkan sejumlah barang bekas dan semua orang diajak merespons barang-barang yang disajikan: tusuk sate, robot, piring kertas. Beberapa orang menggunakan cat air di atas lembaran kertas.

Semuanya terjadi tanpa penulis cerita dan sutradara. Entah apa skenarionya, tak jadi soal. Tanpa komando, orang merayakan ruang (dan waktu) terbuka. Merasakan jadi manusia yang manusiawi di kota. “Pasti sesuatu akan terjadi dan kita tinggal mengikuti,” kata Errik.

Errik dan kawan-kawan merencanakan aktivitas kedua, Minggu sore berikutnya di Lapangan Renon. Bagi partisipan diharapkan membawa bahan-bahan yang bisa digunakan untuk meramaikan suasana. “Bisa bawa dus-dus, boleh cat air, kertas lipat, alat musik, camilan, kamera, mainan, apa saja. Bagus juga kalau barang-barang tak terduga yang baru ditemukan di sekitar itu bisa ikut digunakan” kata ia.

Menurut Errik dalam kegiatan ini setiap orang akan merespons dengan caranya masing-masing. Mungkin akan ada yang bermusik, menari, bermain, atau membuat instalasi. “Silakan untuk menggambar atau menggunakan cat air di media kotak, lalu menata atau menempatkan. Ini seperti bermain dalam arsitektur atau susun massa,” kata Errik yang komik-komiknya sering menghiasi halaman akarumput.

Kota-kotaan dari kardus ini adalah sebuah peristiwa yang dibangun. “Harapannya akan ada orang-orang penasaran yang akhirnya kenalan, terlibat dan ikut berkreasi. Untuk yang sudah kenal bisa lebih akrab lagi. Selama proses itu bisa terjadi diskusi-diskusi menarik pula. Setidaknya ada hal aneh baru yang terjadi di lapangan itu. Kira-kira selesai ketika matahari menghilang,” kata Errik.

Sebuah ajakan yang menggoda. Mari rayakan kota dalam taman.
Waktu: Minggu, 6 Mei 2012 mulai pukul 15 WITA
Tempat: Lapangan Puputan Niti Mandala Renon. Berkumpul di Circle K depan Museum.
*Bawalah kardus bekas yang bisa diolah

“Love Indonesian Products, If Possible 100%”

This message is written in chalk on a wall on the outside of the kitchen. The folding windows make the kitchen feel like a traditional warung (an Indonesian food stall). The glasses, pots, cutting board, kettle, and an irus, a traditional tool for mixing food from coconut husk, are arranged hanging above.

The warung vibe is even more complete with a long bamboo bench positioned outside the kitchen. Inside, discarded drink crates of yellow and red are arranged as storage space for kitchen spices and food.

The kitchen is located next to the main entrance to Akanoma Studio. Yu Sing Lim (35 years old) along with Benyamin Narkan, Anjar Primasetra, Peter Antonius, Iwan Gunawan, Wilfrid, and Yopie Herdiansyah use a joglo building (a traditional wooden Javanese building) as their main studio space. The joglo has been raised on stilts, similar to traditional house designs in Kalimantan.

The walls of this traditional Javanese building have been modified. As opposed to the wooden walls normally used, they have installed window frames spliced together with colorful chipboard and glass nako. This material is used surrounding the entire joglo.

Inside, the space is open with no separators. Tables are arranged next to each other with computers on top of them. The architects work from this studio in a homey atmosphere. The four pillars inside the joglo multi-function as shelving for books. Old plastic containers, which were used for storing vegetables at the market, have been reclaimed and are used as shelving to store documents.

Bamboo is very visible within the studio design. The plans seem to optimize the flexibility and strength of bamboo. Besides used as floor mats, larger bamboo poles make up the columns of the building.

The use of bamboo is also visible along the walls of rooms towards the back of the studio. There is room to meet with clients, a sleeping area for staff, and guest rooms which are closed with bamboo poles of different sizes positioned both vertically and horizontally, some as small as your finger and others the width of an outstretched adult hand.

Reclaimed used materials can be seen in the bathroom. A combination of used glass bottles and exposed brick wall. Besides functioning as hanging pens, the bottles also reflect natural light into the bathroom.

Yu Sing also uses bamboo for stairs. “It’s cheap and it’s a great alternative,” he said. The right stairway towards the front of the building is enclosed with discarded car windows. The curved windows are clamped in place then tied to bamboo poles using wire. “We needed that area to use transparent materials. It turns out in this village there is a collector of used car windows, so we experimented with them. The cost was quite inexpensive,” says this architect who graduated from Institut Teknologi Bandung.

This two-story building constructed at 700 meters above sea level can be seen towering within the village. The studio itself is built over 650 square meters of land. Far from the city, it is located on Jalan Tipar Timur, Laksana Mekar Village, Padalarang, in West Bandung. The location is closer to the Purbaleunyi toll (Purwakarta-Bandung-Cileunyi) than it is to Bandung city. “This location was chosen because our financing is limited,” explains Yu Sing.

Previously, Yu Sing contracted a house as his studio space. However, the cost of the contract was not cheap. At the same time, Iwan, Akanoma’s drafter, was searching for land and was offered a plot west of Bandung city. “He was looking for land and came across a large plot. So we decided to share it between the three of us and the studio was built using the least expense possible,” says Yu Sing.

The main studio component is the joglo, which on its peak is adorned with two chicken statues from Solo. “We moved the joglo here after purchasing it months ago. We didn’t have enough money to build an office. When we bought the joglo, we didn’t yet have plans to build an office,” explained the author of the book Mimpi Rumah Murah (Dreaming of Inexpensive Housing).

Akanoma studio in a way no represents Yu Sing as an architect. He believes architecture must have roots. For Yu Sing, using a joglo, modified with bamboo, as the main building component represents the current role of architecture in Indonesia.

“I have a dream to create a sustainable city village, to slow the trend of villages being displaced and becoming victims of development. People should have a permanent village where they can live prosperously and comfortably. Our studio is in the village, so we provide a library and social space for the surrounding residents to use,” says Yu Sing, referring to the porch area and public library located underneath his studio.

Unfortunately, Yu Sing explains, the local community has not yet used this social space for their meetings. “If they need it, they are welcome to use the space. What is being used now is the public library, almost every afternoon kids come to read books here. The books in are library are mostly donated,” he said.

Yu Sing has also taken efforts to make sure the building is environmentally friendly. This long-haired architect intentionally extended the roof of the joglo, and attached a number of metal pipes at an angle in a V shape to create a buffer. These metal pipes are connected to the gutters around the roof. They function as a buffer, as well as a rainwater harvesting system by directing rain into a water absorption tank.

Besides being environmentally friendly, Akanoma also makes an effort to produce their own food by planting vegetables around the studio land. “We have planted basil, long beans, eggplant, leunca, chili, cucumber, cassava, cosmos flowers, and more. We also have a pond used to soak bamboo during the preservation stage, which has an additional function as a fishpond. We have already harvested Nila fish for food. Since our studio is quite far away from everything, we usually cook our meals here” he said.

A mathematical model used by researchers from from Princeton University and Standford University in the U.S., the National University of Singapore and Universidad Nacional Autonoma in Mexico found that 3051 species of amphibians and 163 land mammal species are yet to be discovered.

Most of these undiscovered species are likely to be in the warm, wet forests of the Neotropics (South and Central America), the Afrotropics (which includes the Congo basin and Madagascar), and Indomalaya (which spans parts of Southeast Asia and India).

Creating new protection zones could help save the undiscovered species, which are vulnerable due to human expansion into previously untouched forests, the authors said.

“Today’s ‘hidden’ biodiversity need not vanish without a trace. It is up to us to try to prevent such a tragedy,” said the report, which was published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society: B.

Protecting unknown species is important because they may silently perform important roles in balancing forest ecosystems.

“There is great potential for expanding protected areas (but doing so in a way that respects the interests and values of indigenous peoples) through innovative international cooperation,” said the authors, pointing to a 2010 deal under which Norway will invest $1 billion in Indonesian forests if Indonesia declares a moratorium on the issuance of new permits to clear natural forest.

However, the Norway deal is yet to be fully implemented in Indonesia, where forest clearing remains rife.

Photo by Cyril Blazy.

This article was originally published at The Conversation.
Read the original article.