- The Exhibition
- Minding the GapReflecting on the gaps often found between intended outcomes and actual results, this mindmap deconstructs the various concepts behind the term, sustainable development, precisely to discover how phenomena interconnect and interrelate in a web of meaning.
- From Here to ThereLocations of the community engagement initiatives, Projects 2C, Aphireak and Argali.
- The GlobalBased on data extrapolated from global institutions, graphical representations were generated to present and contrast different conditions of the three countries, Cambodia, India and Indonesia in relation to Singapore and the United States.
- The PersonalOver several days in August 2010, communities were visited and interviews recorded. Here are the personal stories of lives on the ground.
- Population vs GDPGDP per capita is gross domestic product divided by midyear population. GDP is the sum of gross value added by all resident producers in the economy plus any product taxes and minus any subsidies not included in the value of the products. It is calculated without making deductions for depreciation of fabricated assets or for depletion and degradation of natural resources.
- Income RatioRatio of the income or expenditure share of the richest 10% of the population to that of the poorest 10%.
- Poverty ThresholdThe poverty threshold is the percentage of the population living on less than US$1.25 and US$2.00 a day at 2005 international prices.
- Access to SanitationAccess to improved sanitation facilities refers to the percentage of the population with at least adequate access to excreta disposal facilities that can effectively prevent human, animal, and insect contact with excreta. Improved facilities range from simple but protected pit latrines to flush toilets with a sewerage connection. To be effective, facilities must be correctly constructed and properly maintained.
- Life ExpectancyLife expectancy at birth indicates the number of years a newborn infant would live if prevailing patterns of mortality at the time of its birth were to stay the same throughout its life.
- Maternal MortalityMaternal mortality ratio is the number of women who die during pregnancy and childbirth, per 100,000 live births. The data are estimated with a regression model using information on fertility, birth attendants, and HIV prevalence.
- Infant/Child MortalityInfant mortality rate is the number of infants dying before reaching one year of age, per 1,000 live births in a given year. Under-five mortality rate is the probability per 1,000 that a newborn baby will die before reaching age five, if subject to current age-specific mortality rates.
Madam Warsih, 38 |
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 ⓐ + ⓑ From left to right: Madam Warsih, 38; her husband, Rosid, 40; her younger daughter, Jumi, 16; her niece, 18 months; her older daughter, Lia, 19; and her son, Adi, 10. |
Which part of Indonesia are you from? I came from the borders between West Java and Central Java, called Indramayu. I came here ten years ago, since 1999. I have been a trash-picker for ten years already. Why did you choose to come to Jakarta? There was no employment for me in Indramayu. My whole family was depending on me for money. I then decided to come here as I saw hope in my son's education and success here [Jarkata]. Did you know what you wanted to work as when you came over? When we came over, we already knew what we wanted to do. We only have brute strength to work with and trash picking is suitable for us. I originally wanted to work in Singapore as a maid, but unfortunately, my husband fell ill, so I stayed in Indonesia. And then I had my son, so I don't want to leave anymore. |
| And now? My sister went to Saudi Arabia to work as a maid and she left her baby with my family. We have to take care of the baby now. She is only one-and-a-half years old. Who else is there in your family? My husband, Rosid, is 40 years old. I have two daughters, one 19-year-old and the other a 16-year-old. The 16-year-old, Jumi, just got married two months ago. Both she and her husband are staying with us. And my boy, Adi, is ten. And we have the baby staying with us too. Tell us more about being a trash-picker. How much trash can you collect in a day? My husband, daughter and me, we can collect 7kg of plastic in a week. And how much money does it bring you? Plastic bottles give me 2,000 rupiah [S$0.30] per kilogramme and disposable plastic cups gives 3000 rupiah [S$0.45] per kilogramme. Aswin pays us 4000 rupiah [S$0.60] per kilogramme for the detergent packaging. |
Where do you usually collect the trash? I walk around the different estates to find useful things from each household's trash bin. Everyday, my husband and I will also go to the private school nearby to help them clear their rubbish. We have been given special rights by the school; no one else can collect trash from there. Why do both of you have special rights to this school? The school trusts us. The school knows that we are honest people, so they trust us. Does the school pay you for clearing their rubbish for them? No. We will bring all the rubbish out to the field, and look for things we want, then we burn the rest. What time do you start working? I start from 5am till 7am. I then get an hour of rest before I continue work from 8am till 12pm for lunch. After that I will continue work all the way till 7pm before I head for home. |
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 ⓒ + ⓓ Pondok Surya, the neighbourhood where Madam Warsih visits almost everyday on her rounds. |
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 ⓔ Sorting refuse at the private school. |
You are a head trash-picker. Can you tell us what is a head trash-picker? I used to be under another head trash-picker when I first started out. There were 26 of us under her. Later I separated myself from the group to try being a head-trash-picker on my own as the previous one was bad. I will become my own head trash-picker when I have the money. Why was she bad? Our payments for the trash we picked were often delayed. The old boss will not pay us our cash to us when we hand her the trash we picked, she only wrote us an IOU with the amount she owed us and we could only get cash from her when we really needed it. Why do you need money to be a head trash-picker? Because the old boss didn't pay us first. Sometimes, I would become the head trash-picker if I had the money to pay the trash-pickers working under me. I would pay them first when they gave me their trash. |
After you separated from the old boss, were there any hard feelings between both of you? No. I used to take care of her baby when I used to stay with her. So she did not hate me. And there is no rule about being the head trash-picker. We can sell the trash we collect to anyone. We don't have to sell to only one head trash-picker. What other things do you need to do as a head trash-picker? The other trash-pickers will put the trash they have collected outside my house. I will sort them out. For the plastics to be sold to Aswin [Plastic Works], I will cut and clean them. I usually do this once a week. It only takes a few hours. Then I will use the pushcart to transport the trash to Aswin's to sell to him. The pushcart is spoilt now, so I have asked the trash-pickers to sell the plastics to Aswin directly. When don't the other trash-pickers sell the trash to Aswin themselves? They are lazy to cut and clean the plastics, and to bring the plastics to Aswin themselves. |
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 ⓕ + ⓖ The head trash-picker in her home; Madam Warsih used to work under her, and would bring items she has collected to her home for sorting. The mezzanine under the roof is rented out to the trash-pickers as sleeping quarters. |
 ⓗ The only equipment Madam Warsih and her family uses to transport their items, is an old cart made out of scrap wood. At the time of this interview, the cart is damaged and is not in use. |
What happened to the pushcart? It is old. We made it ourselves. Sometimes we find wood from things people throw away and we use it to make the pushcart. My husband is good at making and fixing things. He fixes things as a side job too. We bought the wheels for 200,000 rupiahs [S$30.20] and made the pushcart. Now we need to find newer wood for it, but it is hard to find this. So now we just carry the trash by hand. And yourself? Why do you want to be a head trash-picker then? I want to be independent. How many trash-pickers do you have under you? Used to be about 26 people. But now it's only ten, because the rest have either gone back to their hometown to become farmers again or have moved to other places. What about you? Do you want to return to your hometown someday? No. I don't have a house in my hometown, so I wouldn't want to go back. |
| At what age do you think you will retire? I don't know. If I have the money, I want to have a small shop to sell things. Everyday, I hope to find a lot of things that can sell for a lot of money. That is my motivation to pick more trash everyday. I want Adi to have a proper education, all the way till university. The Jakarta certificate is respected. I pray to God for blessings. (At the roadside Madam Warsih sits down to rest.) How long will you usually rest for? Until my legs don't hurt anymore. What happened to your legs? My calves will hurt if I don't take my medicine. What sort of medication are you taking? Have you been to the doctor? No, I have never seen a doctor before. I go to the pharmacy and describe the symptoms to them. The medicine they give me works. I drink it every night so that I can work the next day. |
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 ⓘ + ⓙ Jumi looking after her baby cousin at home, as the child's mother (Madam Warsih's sister) is working as a domestic helper in Saudi Arabia. |
How much does the medicine cost? It is 10,000 rupiah [S$1.50] for ten days of medicine. No matter what, I always make sure I have at least 10,000 rupiah in case I need to buy the medicine, because without it, I cannot work. My husband is worse. If he doesn't take the medicine, he cannot walk at all. Sometimes we even have to carry him to bathe. How long has it been like that? About ten years ago, after I gave birth to Adi. (At her house.) How long have you been living here? For a few months. This house is new. How much do you pay for the rent? 300,000 rupiah [S$45.30] per month. What are the monthly utilities bills? Water is taken from the pump which the community shares. Electricity is about 100,000 rupiah [S$15.10] per month. What is this ceiling made of? The previous owner had no money to make a platform ceiling. So we use plastic sheets to cover the house. |
Ms Lia, 19 |
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What happens when it rains. Will water come into the house? No, it is fine. We will change the plastic sheets once in a while. (At the roadside.) What do you think of Aswin? He is a very good man. He lent me money to buy textbooks for Adi. I am very grateful to know Aswin. What textbooks did you need to buy? The school says that we must buy textbooks every semester. Although education is supposed to be free, we have to pay 100,000 rupiah [S$15.10] for the textbooks each semester. I have paid Aswin the money, but that was last semester's books. This semester's textbooks have not been bought. Are there old textbooks available? They change the textbooks every year, so we cannot find old textbooks. |
What does Adi do when he is not in school? He likes to play football. He joined the school football club. We need to pay 45,000 rupiah [S$6.79] each month for that. At first we didn't allow him to join, because it was expensive, but he cried. So we let him go. The school football club also has a football jersey, but it is very expensive. It costs 55,000 rupiah [S$8.30]. We cannot afford that, so Adi will pick trash himself so that he can play football. |
 ⓚ Adi dreams of playing football and to afford the cost of purchasing a jersey, he collects trash together with his mother. |
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 ⓛ + ⓜ Lia and Madam Warsih on their rounds. |
| How long have you been in Jakarta? I was here since I was eight years old. What do you work as? I work as a domestic helper everyday, from 7am to 9am. After that I will follow my mother to pick trash. What do you do as a domestic helper? I clean the house, wash and iron clothes for the five people in the family. Is the work tough? Yes, because I do everything by hand. They don't have any machines that I can use. How much do you earn from being a domestic helper? 300,000 rupiah [S$45.30] a month. Will you want more domestic jobs to do? No, one is enough. My employers are very good to me. And I can earn more when I pick trash because sometimes, people will give us things, like clothes and food. Sometimes, people give money too. |
But what about the dirt from the trash? I am used to it. I used to find it dirty, but now I am okay with it. Do you remember the first time you picked trash? What was it like? I felt very ashamed. But after seeing my mother, I just want to make her happy, so I help. Now, I am used to it. Do people call you names or say nasty things to you? Sometimes people will scold me because they think that I am messing up the trash, but I am not. I always put the trash back nicely. We earn our own money, we don't steal. What do you want to do in the future? I want to continue what I am doing now. Do you want to go back to Indramayu? No, I see my future in Jakarta. Do you think you want to go to back to school? No, I studied until elementary 2 only. It has been too long. It is not my time to study any more. |
What about your children in future? I don't want my children to be like me. But if the circumstances do not allow, they will have to pick trash too. It is dirty, but they can wash their hands after they help. Do you want to move out of the house? In the future, I want to move out. I don't want to be a burden to my family. My sister is married. I am the only one who can help my parents earn money now. Where do you want to stay if you move out? Somewhere like the previous head trash-picker's place, where I can stay in a big house and don't need to pay rent. I just need to collect trash and sell to the previous head trash-picker and I don't need to worry about anything else. |
 ⓝ Lia sees her future in Jakarta, and where she continues to be a trash-picker to support her family and dreams of a better life. |
Ms Santi Pillang, 26 |
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| Where are you from? I come from Padang. Where are you living now? I live in Bukit Duri [Ciliwung] with my younger brother, Rio, who is 17. How many people are there in your family? I have two elder sisters and two younger brothers. Two of them are living in Chakung, one is in Bekasi. When did you come to Ciliwung? When I was 19 years old. Alone? No, I came with my siblings. My parents stayed behind in Padang. What brought you to Jakarta? After I graduated from SMK [vocational high school], I had no job. So I decided to come to Jakarta to get a better life. Did you already have a job offer or option in mind before coming here? No. After arriving here, I was jobless for a year. Then I found a job to tend to a shop at Market Messer. After working for 14 months, I earned enough money to set up a business selling nasi padang in front of a shop. |
Where did you stay when you first came? We stayed at my aunt’s house at Kampong Pulo [opposite Bukit Duri]. But it was very crowded, so we moved out after a while. After getting work at the shop in Market Messer, I saved the money and rented a house at Bukit Duri. I have been staying here ever since. How did you come to work at Sanggar Ciliwung [community centre belonging to local NGO Ciliwung Merdeka]? The government wanted to widen the road, so they demolished the place where I was selling food. I became jobless again after that. Then one day I came to the Sanggar to join their national day celebrations, and that was when I met Sandyawan Sumardi [founder of Ciliwung Merdeka]. He heard about my situation and offered me a job here. Were you given any compensation for the demolition? No. I didn’t have an actual shop. I was selling in front of a shop. |
 ⓐ Santi participates in one of the economic self-reliance programmes started by Ciliwung Merdeka, a local NGO. Under this pilot programme, villagers are taught skills to produce crafts and other goods at the community center in the village, Sanggar Ciliwung. Imparting these skills and assisting the villagers to reach domestic and overseas markets increases their means of livelihood. |
 ⓑ Here, she demonstrates how scraps of batik are made into bags. The batik scraps are first laid out and assembled together in a sheet. |
 ⓒ For strength and durability, different types of stitching are employed, which necessitates the use of different sewing machines. |
Do you prefer your previous or current job? I prefer to work here at the Sanggar. There is more social interaction and more meaningful profits. How much do you earn a month? 500,000 rupiah [S$75.47]. Is that enough to get you by? No. I need to pay 300,000 rupiah [S$45.28] for rental and Rp 200,000 rupiah [S$30.20] for Rio’s transport to school, so I don’t have enough money to pay for food. So how do you earn the money for your food expenses? I write articles for the newspaper and I receive 220,000 rupiah [S$33.20] for each article published. How often do you submit articles? Once a month. What do you write about? I write about life in Bukit Duri. I’m currently writing a novel too. I have about 90 pages done so far, and half of it has been edited. |
| What is your novel about? I write about my life, my experiences from the time when I was young until now. Do you have an editor? No, I edit it myself. I’m not sure if I can get a publisher to accept my work. How’s your novel progressing? I can’t finish it yet, because I need to go to an internet café to type it out, and I will need to pay for that. So now I just write it out by hand. So when do you write your novel? I usually go home at 7pm, and I have time to write my novel. Sometimes I stay back to sew, sometimes I just stay around the Sanggar to talk to my friends. But I’m busy now, and I go home at around 9pm everyday. Sometimes when I can’t sleep, I will write until morning. Can we read your novel? (embarrassed chuckle) In my articles, I write about life in Bukit Duri, sexual harassment of wives by their husbands and about marginalized children. |
What was your article on the marginalized children about? I met a 9 year old street boy who told me about his life. Street children are very willing to work, and are more street smart. What is your view on the Anak Pinggiran (marginalized children)? I think there is no difference between ‘normal’ children and marginalized children. All children have the same intelligence and willingness to learn. What are your aspirations for the future? I want to be a novelist. After graduating from high school, I passed the test to become a police woman, but my parents refused to pay for me to become a policewoman. Why did you need to pay? I don’t know. It’s a rule. We have to pay the money if we want to become a police officer. How much was the fee? 25,000,000 rupiah [S$3773.60]. |
 ⓓ Once the sheet of batik is large enough, Santi trims it to the required shape and size. For this one, it will be used as part of a bag for notebook computers. |
 ⓔ Santi works with her other villagers on the programme, for a more efficient production process. |
 ⓕ The batik is attached to a piece of foam cushioning, and checked to ensure that its dimensions fit. |
 ⓖ The batik is then sewed firmly to the foam cushioning with the aid of a sewing machine. |
How do you feel about this community? I am happy to be among these people. They help me widen my knowledge. What are your views on the Economic Self-reliance Program? I think it is good as it helps the jobless community. However, not many people are willing to take part in this program as no positive results can be seen yet. How did you get involved in this program? This is my responsibility as part of the staff in the Sanggar. What are your thoughts on this program? I hope that the products can sell well in the market, and it will become more popular with many people buying them. What do you think about the threat of eviction facing the community? Many are migrant workers with not much income. If they are evicted, they will not have any place to move to. Life will be hard for them, as they will not be able to earn money and will have no place to stay. It will be expensive for them to find a new place to rent. |
Do you have any plans to deal with an eviction if it occurs? No. I hope it won’t happen. I do not want to move as my neighbours are like my family. What do you think of the annual flooding? There are two sides to this incident, the positive and the negative. I think the positive side is the community spirit when such an incident occurs. You can see the unity as the people help each other to move to a safer place. The negative side is not being able to stay in our homes. Do you think the flooding is a problem? No problem. I like to swim in the water! What about the losses which may occur from the flooding? In the big flood of 2007, I lost everything. My television, and even my high school certificates. The only thing I had left were the clothes on my back. What are your hopes for Rio? I hope my family conditions can change, with Rio becoming more successful. He is 17 years old now. |
How about your personal hopes for the future? I hope to open a shop for the economic stability program. However, my primary focus now is to open an orphanage as I know how to accompany and work with children here. I want to run this orphanage with my own money and effort. My secondary focus will be to work on my novel, and become a novelist. |
 ⓖ A black lining is sown to the insides of the bag. |
 ⓗ Attaching the zipper. |
 ⓘ The finished bag |
Madam Sok Sahraid, 43 |
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Tell us about yourself. I’ve three children. My first daughter is 18 years old, my second daughter is 14 years old, and my youngest son is 12 years old. Were you born in this village? I am born in another commune of Kampong Chhnang Province. It is the Tekhod commune, at a village called Kod Sedau. But both Konleng Phe and Kod Sedau are under the same district of Roulipiel. How long have you been living in this village? Since 1997, when I delivered my second daughter. What was the circumstance that led you to this village? This village is the hometown of my husband. According to the Cambodian custom, the husband moves in the wife’s home. What made you live with the husband in this case? Because my husband has some land available for rice production, that’s why I decided to move here. |
What are you working as now? I’ve four different roles in the village! Firstly, I am a farmer. I produce rice in the farm. I also have some land for other crops such as corn, bean, pumpkin, and chilli. Secondly, I am the cashier of the savings group in the village. I am also the assistant of the village chief to help the villagers. Lastly, I work with Community Capacities for Development, a local NGO, as a community organizer. As a cashier of the savings group, do you receive any pay? No. It’s voluntary. What is your main motivation in becoming the cashier of the saving group? As I contribute to the project, I’m also helping my fellow villagers. Most members have trust in me as I document the accounts very clearly. I’ve heard of some members gossiping about me keeping some of the money for myself, but once I show them the accounts, they are convinced that I’m honest. As a cashier, I’ve to be very responsible. If I lose any money, I will have to make it up from my own pocket. |
 ⓐ Mdm Sok Sahraid, at the home of the village chief. |
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Where do you learn your skills as a cashier? I did not have any proper training but some NGO staff members came to the village and gave me some basic training on the roles and responsibilities of a cashier. As community organizer, can you tell us what you do? As a community organizer, I visit different villages to facilitate the formation of different savings groups. For example, there is the women savings group, the youth savings group; the kind of group depends on the villagers. The formation of such groups allows me to mobilize them easily to have meetings or workshops. During the meetings, we discuss things like the reasons why natural resources are being destroyed. I also educate them on laws such as the forestry law. Besides these, I also have a good relationship with the local authorities such as the village chief or commune chief. I bring the different villages together to form a network so they will be able to help each other when there is any trouble. During these meetings, we focus on women and encourage them to be part of such groups. |
Do you face any problem in trying to organise the people? Yes, I face such problems frequently. It also depends whether these people obtain resources directly from the forest. Some of them have businesses such as selling timber, so when I try to educate them on the importance of retaining natural resources such as trees, they retaliate by saying that it disrupts their source of income and it also doesn’t benefit them in any way. How do you go about solving the problem? In one village, there could be up to ten families that will not understand these problems. However, I’ll persist and repeatedly talk to these people by going directly to their homes. Moving on to the assistant of the Village Chief, is this position paid or is it voluntary? I get paid around 20,000 riel (S$6.30) per month from the government. This amount is not much and I’ve other commitments too. |
What do you do as an assistant? Assist the village chief on updating statistics of the village, and sometimes reporting information to the commune level. Do you find yourself in situations where others refuse to cooperate with you? There were cases when I raised issues that concerned the ladies in this village to the commune chief. Many of them are concerned about the development of the village with regards to sanitation. I try to raise issues brought up by other ladies from the village, but the village chief does not really give priority to these issues, as he does not raise them to the commune level. So, the village management team and I do feel disappointed with the village chief. What do you do about it? Advocacy! [Laughs] I’ll repeatedly raise the issue to the commune chief. And I’ve forgot to tell all of you about another occupation of mine! I am the focal person from the commune. At the commune level in each village, they select one focal person. The role of the focal person is to work for women and children, and raise issues to the commune level. |
How influential is this focal person? Do people listen to this focal person? Most of the time they do listen, as most cases concern domestic violence. In some domestic violence cases, we need to inform the local authorities like the police and at the same time I’ll follow up as well. For example, in some cases where the domestic violence becomes serious and the wife wants a divorce, my duty is to look for a lawyer for the lady. What motivates you to fight for equal rights for women? As the focal person at the commune level, I work in eight villages not just one village, for women and children. With regards to your question, I’ve found men are not concerned about women’s rights. They simply exert control over women and in some cases, beat them. Also, as a Khmer tradition, the elderly will remind their family or children who are recently married not to tell anyone about any problems they have in the family. After I received some training from the NGO, I pass on the knowledge about women’s rights to the eight villagers I work with. With time, the women began to talk about these issues more openly. This allows me to work with the women and tackle the problems. I can see that domestic violence has begun to decrease. |
Mr Mao Sokhalay, 22 |
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 ⓐ Mr Mao Sohkalay, preparing for his classes. |
Why did you choose to teach? There are two reasons why I choose to teach. First is financial. My family has many children and my parents did not have sufficient money to allow me to study in the University. I needed to get a job as soon as possible to earn income to contribute back to the family. That is the reason why studying in a Pedagogy school (teacher training) was a better choice as I could graduate in just two years and get a job after. The second reason is I love the job as a teacher and I aspire to be a secondary school teacher in the future. How long have you been here? I have been teaching in this school in Konleng Phe for two years. In the coming academic year, I will assume the position as the head of school. The head of school is rotated yearly among the teachers. This is to allow teachers to have time to go back to their hometown to visit their families. The workload of the head of school is usually rather heavy. |
What are the specific responsibilities of the head of school? The head of school is usually responsible for the administrative work. He/She has to attend meetings with the Ministry of education. In addition, if there is a shortage of teachers in school, the head of school will need to teach. The head of school also attends meetings at the provincial level. How do you plan to move from a primary school teacher to a secondary school teacher? I will need to save from the salary I am earning now to further my studies in the University before I am qualified to be a secondary school teacher. Another path will be to take the government exam and if I pass, I will only need to study for another two years to become a secondary school teacher. This path is also a cheaper alternative than studying in the private school. How much do you earn as a teacher? 170,000 riel per month, roughly equivalent to US$40 (S$53) per month. |
 ⓑ The school where Mr Mao Sohkalay works. |
 ⓒ Students assemble every morning before classes. |
Is this the standard salary for teachers throughout Cambodia? It is very difficult to compare. For a teacher who is under probation, this is the salary he/she will get. Only when a teacher becomes a permanent teacher after about two years, the salary will then increase to US$50 (S$67) per month. You live in Kampong Chhnang town. Where do you stay during school term? We live in the school. There is a small house on the school ground where teachers live. Some teachers stay in the office. We cook here as well. There are no toilet facilities in the school. How do you bathe and use the toilet? We go to the forest. Do you prefer to teach in the town or village? I know of a teacher who submitted documents to the Ministry of Education to request for a change of school but no avail. So even if I want to change, it will not be easy. Besides, to change school with another teacher will require some money. I would rather save the money and use it in the future to further my studies. |
| Coming to the village to teach requires you to take a boat. Is your transport cost compensated for by the Ministry of Education? No, it’s not. We pay using our own salary. Do you have enough money? No. But for village schools that are far away from the town, the Ministry of Education allocates a sum of money to each school to be used by teachers for buying teaching materials, transport and other personal expenses. Is the extra allowance sufficient? All we can do is to ensure we spend within the budget. With limited budget, we will need to reduce our expenses, for example, to reduce the number of trips back home. How do you usually spend your salary? Daily food expenses are about 3,000 riel (S$0.94) per day; maintenance of bike is US$15 (S$20) per month, Grocery and others items are about 15,000 riel (S$4.72) per month. As for the phone credit, it will depend on whether we have extra cash for the month. If we have no more budget, we can use as little as US$2 (S$2.70) per month. |
 ⓓ The students come from several villages around Konleng Phe, as this is the only school in this remote area. |
 ⓔ Education is crucial for those seeking to break out of the poverty trap, and some families even sell whatever little material assets they possess in order to finance their education for their children. |
| Going back to the school, can you explain its organization structure? The school is made up of a head of the school at the top and four teachers below. Different teachers have different responsibilities. The head of the school is involved in decision making, as well as teaching. Some teachers will be involved in managing the Priority Budget provided by the Ministry. This budget is generally used for the development of the school, maintenance, and purchasing of materials for school usage. Can you give us more details on the Priority Budget? The Priority Budget is divided into two components. One is called the support budget which is the same for all schools in Cambodia and the other is calculated based on the number of students in each school. With every student, the Ministry provides 7,000 riel (S$2.20). We currently have about 220 students. |
Is this amount of money sufficient for running the school? We have already come up with a detailed budget for these funds. Strictly speaking, it is not sufficient. The budget does not include buying books for the students. They are for purchasing teaching materials for the school only. However, we will allocate a small part of the money to buy books for them on the 1st of June, our children’s day, to encourage them to study. What are the subjects taught? There are four subjects. Khmer, Mathematics, Social Studies and Science. How many students are there in each class? 34 to 45. Do all the children in the village get a chance to attend school? Yes. Some of the families even sell their assets to ensure their children come to school. But there are also children who have the chance but do not want to come to school. |
What is the average number of children who move on to the secondary school after completing grade 6? About 75%. Do the children go to the town for the secondary level? MS: It depends. If the students have relatives living in the town, they are most likely to attend school there. However, if they have relatives living in another village where there is a secondary school, then the students will attend the school there. What improvements do you want to see in the school? Currently, I am liaising with this organization called International Relief and Development (international NGO) to sponsor of food for the students, snacks or breakfast. I am also working with parents to set up food stalls in the school. I also hope to install fans, toilets and a water system in the school. The water system can be a pumping well, with water filters so that the students have access to clean water, or a rainwater catchment system. I also hope that there are more learning materials for the students. |
 ⓕ Educating students with a meagre budget is not easy, but Mr Mao Sohkalay does his best as the students are eager to learn. |
Madam Ann Sochech, 45 |
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 ⓐ Mdm Ann Sochech is the only doctor in the remote village of Konleng Phe. |
 ⓑ Without access to modern medical facilities, her only tools that she has are these rudimentary instruments and her knowledge. |
How long have you practised as a mid-wife? Since I was 18 years old. I studied in school until Grade 9 before moving on to medical school. Is your certificate recognized? Yes it is. I had a certificate but my house was burnt down in 1990 and the certificate was burnt as well. I could not get a replacement. If I want one, I would need to go through all the examinations again. So I stopped. What did you stop doing? I used to be a doctor. But after the certificate was burnt, I could no longer practise as a doctor. From then, I became a mid-wife. I also have a rice farm to look after. But currently, due to the new law, I have also stopped working as a mid-wife. The government requires midwives to be certified too to carry out our work in the village. Were you working in the hospital or clinic previously as a doctor? I worked in a hospital, Nom Ai Hospital, which is a referral health centre in the province. |
| With the certificate, were you a fully qualified doctor? (Laughs) I was a general practitioner. Why did you return to the village and practise as a mid-wife here instead of acquiring the certificate again? The application fee was too expensive. It was US$2,500 (S$3,320). This fee was actually a bribe. You pay this sum to allow you to get through the courses. It does not function like the standard school fee. And because my house was burnt down, I had no money to pay for the fee, that was why I chose to return to the village. I had to think of the future of my children. I came here in 1993 to become a mid-wife. When I first returned, I witnessed three cases of women who died after childbirth. These encounters inspired me to become a mid-wife in the village. It was a difficult time for me initially. When I told the villagers that the three women should not have died if they followed the correct way of giving birth, they did not believe me. But I persevered and slowly proved I was correct, and gained their trust over time. I continued being a mid-wife until 2007 when the law was enacted. |
As a mid-wife, was this job your main income or was it rice farming? Before the new law was enacted, my main source of income came from being a mid-wife. For each delivery, I usually charged 70,000 riel (S$22). But for some cases when the mother was very poor, I helped them without charging. Sometimes, they would give me clothes and rice in exchange. There was once when I helped to deliver a baby, the baby slipped through my hands and fell into a gap on the floor. The family was so poor the flooring was not completed and had gaps. When the baby appeared, he slipped through my hands. I only managed to grab hold of his hands and I needed help from below to support the baby. Nowadays, the situation has improved. Families here used to be very poor. Some were so poor they did not have any clothes. They would use the monk's robe to wrap the babies when they were delivered. From those who were very poor, I received no fees, but just gratitude and appreciation. I wasn't rich like the other doctors. I couldn't bear to charge any money for those who were very poor. |
Were you responsible for just delivering the babies? Were you involved in any pre- or post-natal activities? How many cases were there in a month? Usually I was involved in the pre-natal activities until delivery. But depending on the cases, if the baby had jaundice after birth, I would provide advice to the mother. Before the law was enacted, there were 15-20 cases per month. I provided services not only to this village but also to nearby villages. Altogether, about three villages. People heard about me and came over to seek my services. What happened after the law was enacted? Now, I don't deliver babies anymore. When the pain from contraction starts, the mother will seek my help and I will accompany them to the hospital. Sometimes I stay with them until the baby is delivered. Unless the case is very urgent, I will help to deliver the baby. It is very inconvenient to go to the hospital from here. We need to take a boat. This is even more difficult during the rainy season. |
How did you go about delivering the baby in this rural setting without proper equipment and clean water? I had my own equipment and always ensured I wore gloves when delivering the babies for hygiene reasons. How do you find the sanitation level here? Is it acceptable to you? The sanitation here is not as good as in the city. But in terms of food and crops, it's more natural compared to the city, where they use chemicals, such as pesticides during farming. These chemicals actually cause severe illnesses. Whereas here in the village, people get fevers and colds, but these are minor illnesses. Currently, there are officers who come down to the village to educate the villagers on the importance of having clean water and boiling their water before they drink it. But still, not everyone in the village is aware. Only about 80% of the villagers are educated. Previously, besides being a mid-wife, did you treat villagers who fell ill? Yes. I prescribed medicine when they were ill. |
How and where did you get your medicine? I bought them from the pharmacy in the market. After the law was enacted, could you still practise medicine in the village? In other places, there are restrictions. Only certified doctors can prescribe medicine. But for rural areas, like this village, I am still able to prescribe medicine for the people. It is not prohibited yet. Is practicing medicine a source of income for you as well? Yes, it is a source of income but not a stable one. Some people buy on credit. There are many cases where they buy on credit and usually take up to 4–5 months to pay me. There are also cases where I do not charge for my service. Once, there was a boy, whose thumb was severed by a machine. I helped to stitch it back, which involved injections and medication. They owed me 150,000 riel (S$47.16) for the medication. But I did not ask for the money eventually, as I knew they were very poor. |
| What are the common illnesses in this village? Gastric pains caused by irregular meals times. It may also be caused by the chemicals used in crops and from drinking unclean water. Some villagers buy food from the market and cook or eat it without washing. This is due to a lack of knowledge. What do the children here suffer from? For infants that are two months or older, they usually suffer from diarrhea, fever and throat soreness. What is the infant mortality rate in the village? There are approximately five to six children born each year, and the number of infants that die ranges from two to three per year. These statistics are reflective of this village only. I once knew of a mother who was so poor she ate rats to fill her stomach. She fell sick with fever and her muscles became tensed. But she continued to breastfeed her newborn child and the baby became infected as well. |
Can you share with us your most difficult experience in this village? In 1993, not long after I returned to this village, I was very poor and had no place to stay. I sought shelter at my neighbour's house. I stayed there for two to three years. During that time, I was pregnant. But I still went out to fish with my husband. I rowed the boat while my husband set up traps for the fishes. An accident happened during my last trimester of pregnancy. The house I was living in had bamboo flooring. One day, I was walking in the house when one of the bamboo strips snapped. I fell into the gap and hit my belly. I had to be rushed immediately to the hospital in Phnom Penh and went into labour shortly after. At that time, I did not have money and had to borrow 10,000 riel (S$6.34), which was considered a lot then, to go to the hospital in case I needed surgery. After I gave birth, I had to continue to work while looking after my child at the same time. |
Lastly, what do you want to see improved in this village? The problem for the village is that the hospital is too far. Some families, who are very poor, do not own a boat and if the mother were to deliver at night, they cannot send her to the hospital and thus, have to deliver the baby at home. In this village, there are 300 hundred families but only about 20 families are able to live comfortably, with sufficient food to eat. Some women from very poor families will go abroad to Malaysia to work as a maid to earn an income to send home. Some families are so poor they do not have money to treat their children when they fall sick. There was a case where the mother hugged her sick child till he died. This village is very poor. Families are living very difficult lives. If there is a hospital or clinic, villagers can bring their children to seek treatment when they are ill. Or at least to have a bridge, so that villagers have easier access to the hospital in the town. The hospital is just too far away. |
 ⓒ The village of Konleng Phe is situated in a rural area with little infrastructure and development. Access to the nearest large town or city requires a boat and car ride. Within the village, dirt tracks serve the well-worn paths of the inhabitants. |
Madam Nurhayati, 49 |
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 ⓐThe manufacturing of compost is one of the economic self-reliance programs initiated by Ciliwung Merdeka at Sanggar Ciliwung. The waste materials for the compost is collected from the Messer Market, near Bukit Duri. |  ⓑ Unsold vegetables and discarded parts are collected by workers at night when the market is about to close. |
Where are you from? I’m a native here. I was born in Kampong Pulo, Jakarta. What is your job? I make compost at the Sanggar [Ciliwung Merdeka’s community centre]. Sometimes I help to clean the Sanggar. When did you come to the Sanggar? I came here in 2008 and worked for a year. I stopped in 2009, and resumed work in 2010. Are you happy working here? Yes. I sold nasi uduk and other Indonesian dishes in 2009. Then, I had to spend money to buy ingredients to produce the food, and business was not good. I am grateful because I do not have to fork out money first to work on compost. What are your hopes for the compost programme? I want it to run smoothly. Now, we have hit our previous target of producing 100kg of compost a month. We want to increase the target to 300. |
| Do you face any challenges in the programme? No. The laboratory where we sent our compost for testing says that we have improved the quality of our compost. Now, we produce superior compost. Has the river changed over the years? Yes. A long time ago, when I was a teenager, the water is clear and gentle. I can see the pebbles and stones at the bottom of the river. I used to swim in it. How fast did the change in the river occur? From the 1970s, the river became worse over the years. In Depok [a city located upstream], many industries release waste into the river. They don’t care, they just dump the waste. What do you feel about these changes? Well, it has already happened. What can we say? I’m disappointed. I used to be able to swim, bathe and wash in the river, but now that the river is like this, I don’t go in anymore. There’s a lot of trash floating in the river, it’s dirty and smelly. |
Did the river play an important role in your life? Yes, it was very important in the past. When the river was still clean, everyone used to play, shower and wash in the river. Even when people had toilets and water in their house, it was more fun to be in the river. So now that the river is dirty, has it changed your way of life? In the past, people always go into the river and use the river water to wash, but less do so now. Is the change difficult? No. But now people worry when the electrical supply gets cut off, because they use the water pump. If there’s no electricity, then they’ll have no clean water to use. Knowing that the river water is dirty, why do so many people still use it? That’s because many of them don’t have clean water at home. Some people also say that they only use the river water to wash dirty things, so it doesn’t matter. There are public toilets and pumps around, but many of them are too lazy to use. |
 ⓒ Leaves, husks and other inedible parts are used. |
 ⓓ The waste material is then transported to the Sanggar for processing. |
 ⓔ To turn vegetable waste into compost, the waste is first put through a grinder that shreds it into a smaller and more uniform size for faster decomposition. |
 ⓕ Here, Mdm Nurhayati is mixing sawdust with the green vegetable matter to obtain the optimum carbon to nitrogen ratio. Later, a bacterial starter will be added to aid decomposition. |
Do they need to pay to use the water pump? Yes, 2,000 rupiah [S$0.30] per use. Why do you need to pay to use the pumps? The fee is to pay for the electricity. It’s a pay-per-use system. People pay the hamlet leader , who then pays the government the monthly fees. Were there floods when the river was still clean? No, there were no floods when I was a teen, at least not every year. There was a flood when I was ten and the next one was when I was 20. When I was 25, a big flood came. After that, there has been a big food every five years. What do you feel about the trash in the river? I don’t feel happy; I am disappointed, annoyed. When did people start throwing their trash into the river? People already threw trash in when the river was still clean. Around 30 years ago, in the 1980s. It started when I was about 20 years old. |
Why would they throw trash into the river? Because there are no more places to burn the rubbish. And people are lazy, so they just throw rubbish in. When newcomers move in, they see the people living here throwing their rubbish into the river, so they just follow. Why don’t any of the villagers stop people from littering in the river? Because people in Kampong Pulo don’t want to spend the money to dispose the rubbish properly. What’s the proper way of disposing the rubbish? There’s supposed to be someone who comes to collect the rubbish. The fee is 200,000 rupiah [S$30.20] a month for each hamlet. Only the villagers from one hamlet tried to do that, but only for one year. Maybe their salaries are too little, so no one wants to collect the trash. |
| Why did they stop after one year? Not all hamlets have that rubbish collection programme, so some people say: “We’re not allowed to throw rubbish in the river, but other people do!” And they have to pay to have their rubbish collected, while others can simply throw into the river, so they don’t want to follow the programme anymore. The people collecting the rubbish also don’t think that their salary is enough. Then they get other jobs, and don’t want to collect rubbish anymore. |
 ⓖ The compost making takes place on a tiny parcel of land directly behind Sanggar Ciliwung, and on the banks of the river. |
 ⓗ Owing to the lack of toilets in many homes, there are many makeshift toilets like these that discharge human waste directly into the water. In fact, their construction is rudimentary: a floating platform with a hole in which people squat over. |
 ⓘ The river flows from the highlands of West Java to Jakarta Bay, picking up all kinds of detritus along the way. |
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 ⓙ + ⓚ The compost is ready after a period of decomposition and fermentation. It will be resold to local farmers as fertiliser or as a soil amendment. This project is one of the ways is which material can be diverted from the waste stream and reclaimed as a resource. Furthermore, compost can be used in placed of chemical fertlizers, reducing the common agricultural problem of nutrient runoff, where nitrogen from fertilisers leach into waterways and cause algae blooms and upsetting the nutrient balance as well as oxygen content of the water. |
Mr Aswin, 39 |
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| When did you start to become a businessman? Since I was a kid, at ten years. It was a hobby then. After I graduated, I worked for some company. After three years, I started thinking of having my own business. There are three things I want in my business—a business, to be environmentally friendly and socially responsible. Was Plastic Works your first business? No, it was my second business. My first business was in breeding tropical fish. I had 600 aquariums and I supplied the fish to exporters who sold them to Singapore. How was business like? I worked with the community in my business. They grew the fishes and I stored them in my aquariums for three days. After that, I sold them to the exporters. I usually got the payment from the exporters after 30 days. |
Did you experience any problems? For the first year, the payment was ok. In the second year, there began to be delays for a month or two. The breeders began to think I was cheating them. So I brought all the breeders to the exporter. The owner promised to pay, but after that, he ran away. So I had to pay the breeders myself, for two years! I didn’t have much money. My salary was only 17 million rupiah [S$2566]. I had to pay each breeder 2 million [S$302]. There were seven of them, so that was already 14 million [S$2114]. So every month, I only have 3 million [S$453] for myself. It was only after I finished paying them that I was able to start saving and planning for my next business. In 2006, I started Plastic Works. Why plastic? There are a lot of garbage around, but why plastic? it is non-biodegradable. It will take at least 100 years to reduce this kind of plastic, maybe a billion years. Nobody has used it before. |
 ⓐ Detergent bags and other plastic package are the raw materials used in Plastic Works' products. |
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 ⓑ + ⓒ The picked plastic is cleaned prior to manufacturing, then flattened and cut to size. |
And so...? This is very useful for every trash picker. Before, there was no use for this type of plastic, and no buyers for it. After we opened Plastic Works, they can sell the plastic and get an additional income. This plastic is easily obtainable here, because it is used as packaging for many household products. For example, each family will use at least three packs of detergent per week, for washing dishes, clothes and floors. In a month, they will use 12. In this area, we have 800 families. That will be 9600 pieces per month! A kilogram is about 80 pieces. So if 120kg of plastics are being thrown away in a month, and we collect all of it, we will have a mountain of plastics! So this business, like I said earlier, is environmentally friendly and also socially responsible. You came up with this idea yourself? Yes, but I was inspired by some people. In the Philippines, there are similar products made from pre-consumer plastic waste, not post-consumer. don’t do that because my goal is to empower people. |
In setting up Plastic Works, what do you hope to achieve in the long run? I hope to it will become a big business, at least in this area. That means we can reduce the amount of plastic waste around here and more people can earn money. Who does Plastic Works empower? There are two groups of people. The first group has skills but little education. In this business, you just need one skill—sewing. The second group of people has no skills nor education—the trash pickers. This business can help both the skillful and those with no skills. How are the workers empowered? I want them to think that this business belongs to them too. They must have faith in this business. So I give them a weekly salary and three kinds of bonus. Each product they make gives them a 1000-rupiah [S$0.15] bonus. And there is a performance bonus every year. The value depends on the performance of the company. They also get their three meals and they can sleep in this house for free. |
How many people does Plastic Work employ? I have nine people who do the sewing. And about 40 trash pickers who supply with the plastic trash. Tell us about the training process involved in making the plastic products. There are three criteria for our products. It must be of high quality, useful and hygienic. After training for one month, the workers will be familiar with the whole process. They must come with sewing skills because we are using a special thread here. The plastic thread is more difficult to sew than the normal cloth thread. They will cut the plastics into small pieces and then piece them together. They will take about one week to learn to sew straight. It is similar to a line production process. Everybody will do one step together. After one week, everybody move to the next step together. Everybody has to work together to make the product because if one person makes one product, it is not effective. This is a handmade product after all. |
| How many steps are there in all? First we collect the plastics from the trash-pickers, then we weigh the plastic so that we can pay them. Next is the washing process: We will soak the plastic in disinfectant. After three hours, we wipe them, then we place them, inverted, under the sun. When they are dry, we sort the plastic according to color and size. This is to make the cutting process and sewing together easy. There are two types of sewing process—panel and finishing. The former is sewing together the small pieces of plastics to form one big piece. The last step is quality control. How long does the whole process take? It depends on the product we are making. We have 32 different products. If it is just the small bag, we will take an average of 20 minutes. The most complicated product is the umbrella. The first time we produced it, we took 3 days. After two months, we can produce five pieces in a day. |
 ⓓ The different colours are sorted before sewing. |
 ⓔ The sewing is done by several workers that Aswin employs. |
 ⓕ One of the finished bags hangs along the wall of the workshop. |
Who are your clients now? From the USA, UK and Singapore. For the first time, they will come to see the whole process and choose the product. They will also meet the trash pickers and the workers. Then they will decide and order, and we send to them. What is the cost price of the products? The cost price is about 40%–60% of the selling price. The profit margins are different for each product. What are the best selling products? We have the nine best selling products that we put in brochures. The umbrella,four sizes of the tote bags, agenda, pencil cases, laptop bags and the trash bin. As orders increase, is the production capacity at Plastic Works adequate? No, but I have other communities who can work on the products. If we have a lot of orders, we can share the orders with them. For example, if I get 10,000 orders for 20 items, it is not easy for me to finish all all of them, so I will outsource the simple products like the tote bags and organisers. |
What kind of communities do you outsource to? Small communities made up of ibu-ibu [‘mother’ for older ladies]. They have received training from me before. If I have too many orders, I will call them. There are two communities directly involved in your business, your workers and the trash pickers. As your business expands, how will it benefit these two groups of people? The trash pickers will get more money from the plastic and the workers will get more bonus. But isn’t there a limit to how much they can produce or how much they can collect? There is a lot of plastic that can be collected, because there are many other communities. If they sell plastic to me, the trash-pickers there will also have an increase in income. In the beginning, only two trash-pickers supplied to me. Now, more have come. |
How would you describe your relationship with the trash-pickers? My relationship with the trash-pickers is mutually beneficial. I need them to supply the plastic, they need me to buy the plastic. I could have gone to the landlords to buy the plastic, but the profits will not go to the trash pickers. The landlords pay them very cheaply for the garbage they collect. At first, when I asked the trash pickers how much they want to sell this kind of plastics to me, they said 500 rupiah [S$0.075] per kilogram, and I said, “Too cheap!” So they said 1000 rupiah [S$0.15] per kilogram and I said, “Too cheap!” And they got confused! 1000 is too cheap? In the end, I told them I would pay 4000 rupiah [S$0.60] for half-cleaned plastics. They just need to clean the surface with water. I would pay 6000 [S$0.90] for fully cleaned plastics, like how we clean it here. They chose the first option, which gives them more time to collect more trash. In the past, nobody wanted this kind of plastics. Now they can earn 4000 rupiah [S$0.60] for 60 to 80 pieces. |
What are your future plans for Plastic Works? I hope it will continue to grow to benefit the environment and society. I also want to start an NGO to give opportunities to the community. I hope to have a system of training and education for the poor and unfortunate people, like the trash pickers. If they can send their children to school, the whole family is filled with hope. School is supposed to be free, but some schools are charging money. It is not very fair. Isn’t it very hard to reach out to the trash pickers? If it is from the heart, it will be easy. If it is just from the mind, it will be hard. |
Mr Abdul Ghofur, 23 |
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 ⓐ Sanggar Ciliwung, the community center set up by Ciliwung Merdeka, in Bukit Duri along the banks of the Ciliwung River. |
 ⓑ Abdul Ghofur preparing for a performance. |
Where were you from? I’m from Central Java. What did you do when you first came to the Sanggar? I didn’t do anything. I was just the same as before I came here. I just played, went to school but I didn’t come back on time. I played with my friends and came back in the night, it was like that every day. And then, little by little, I started to get involved in activities. I became a student here. I studied every week. What do you do now at the Sanggar? After I became a student, I grew up. Sandyawan gave me responsibilities, such as running a little program, and then more and more. Now I am the coordinator of education for children and teenagers. Also, for the environmental society, I’m in charge in this village in area 6, 7 and 8. I’m the principal for the teenagers' organization. |
What do you do as the principal? Every month, on Sunday, we always clean the kampong. We have a celebration every year on 17 August, and we make many things. Prayers for Muslims. Sometimes we have people from other places like social organizations visiting. Many. We organize competitions like football, futsal, so that there are many activities for the teenagers here to prevent them from taking alcohol and drugs. Do you like your job here? Job? I didn’t say this is my job. I just have Sandyawan and I just like to help people. Before, I didn’t know what Ciliwung Merdeka did. I was just a loafer (laughs). I come in and just play, like the children. And then later I thought it would be very nice if I could help people, when there are disasters—floods, earthquakes or the tsunami that happened. And then I started to like to help people, and I enjoyed it. Sandyawan gave me many responsibilities. Too many, so I’m very tired (laughs). But I like it, because if Sandyawan gave me duties, whatever, that becomes my challenge. Ok, I’ll do it. Just brave it—a challenge. And I always run it well. |
| So what are some of these duties you’re doing? Too many, I forget (laughs). We have five programmes at Sanggar Ciliwung—education, environment, health, training, and the economic self-reliance programme. I am the coordinator of education and the economic self-reliance programme. If Sandyawan wants to give me more, ok, I’ll take them (laughs). We have many big events, in Kampong Pulo and Bukit Duri, like Pasar Rakyat, and I’m always the one in charge for every event. So your work here is as an actual employee, not just as a volunteer? What about your salary? I’m a volunteer. I refused it when Sandyawan wanted to pay me, so he said: “It’s ok, you may help at Sanggar Ciliwung, and I’ll give you pocket money.” At first, I took it. It’s different from the other employees at Sanggar Ciliwung. I like to help him, so I try to fulfill my own needs. When I was a student in school, I always took money from him. Now I don’t have to take it. I play percussion, I play music, I have an income. There are many activities where I can earn money. |
Is the money that you receive from playing percussion enough to get you by? Enough to buy things that I need daily. But, like the motorcycle, I buy by saving money together with my brother. And I have plans to buy one more, so we can have one each. Can you tell us more about the economic self-reliance programme and how it started? In the economic programme, we focus on a few things. There’s batik sewing, plastic sewing, and art—handicraft, recycled paper, pictures, necklaces and accessories. So we focus on these: batik, plastic product and handicraft. Oh and there's composting too. And a new one, a mushroom farm. I take over the management and finance in all these programmes. I organize everything, the facilities, making models, and how they work. I experiment with the processes in industries and factories—step 1, 2, 3… until the end. And then I help them to run the business as well, because I want to be a businessman too. I want to be an entrepreneur. And besides that, I also want to be a musician. |
What do you get out of the programmes? I can learn more. Maybe what I get from here, I can bring it to my life, in the future. I can do the same thing with management. With that experience here at Sanggar Ciliwung. I can do the same thing, if I have a corporation. I want to be a big boss. And also, I promised to God, if I become a good man, I will share my profits. 50% for me and 50% for other people. I’ll give my money to NGOs, like Sanggar Ciliwung. That is my aim. How did you get the idea to start the batik or plastic programmes? Well, every tuesday, we have meetings at Sanggar Ciilwung. And we talk about what to do, and we share our ideas at the meeting. During one of the meetings, we decided to do batik, plastic, mushroom, and compost. Every week we monitor and discuss the ideas. Sandyawan never minded what we must do first, he just wants us to start it. |
So the Sanggar has to start the programmes first to show everyone, and then people will come and join in? Yes. And in the future it will take off, so they can be independent. Like composting, just do it. The people will see, and then they’ll ask: “What are you doing?”and they will join in. Because it’s difficult for people over here to start something. So we have to do it first, and people see, then they join in. I always debate with Sandyawan, that they have certain mindsets, for example, batik, there are plans for sewing machines at every area, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 10 at Kampong Pulo, but I don’t think that can work. Such as for composting too, Sandyawan told them to do composting at area 6, 7 and 8. And then the people ordered to make the compost didn’t do it. And I gave my argument to Sandyawan—we just do things together, not in different areas because it doesn’t work if it’s like that. And Sandyawan agreed, so we started first at the Sanggar and Kampong Pulo.We will accompany them in the first year, and then maybe in the next year, they can become independent and do it themselves. |
What are some of the challenges you face in the various programmes? Challenges? Many! It’s hard to persuade the people to join the programs. Very difficult. I’m very tired of taking care of these people. They have to know that I mean well for them. But things go in one ear and out the other. I always have obstacles to overcome because I’m the first to do something. I always think, “how to run it?”, “what to do first?” Things like that. It’s difficult to say. You can’t imagine. For example, it was a challenge when I ran Pasar Rakyat in 2008. With two villages, and in just a month, I had to prepare everything. The villagers don’t join in for every programme we organize. Only the children at Sanggar Ciliwung and our friends. That’s all. My members do everything. The community, as the organizer, and as members, does everything. The children at Sanggar Ciliwung too, they are multi-taskers, and they help. It’s very difficult to get other people to contribute. They are stubborn. It was just Sanggar Ciliwung members in the Economic Self-Reliance programme, nobody else. Other people just walk around, not participating. |
| What plans do you have for the future? I will be involved in Sanggar Ciliwung until it ends. Then I will make a career for myself, because I don’t want to be an employee. To be employed means I’ll just work for others and make them rich. I don’t like that. They will just waste my time to make themselves rich. It’s my aim to be an entrepreneur. Has music changed your life? Of course! Without music, I can’t live (laughs). I can’t live without music. I think in playing music there are three benefits. First, we can go anywhere, free, because the committee pays us to come to some event or festival. Second, we can express ourselves in music, and we’ll express everything. And third, we can get money from playing music. There’re three advantages. But it’s just me who thinks like that, maybe the others don’t. With music I can go places, maybe Bali, maybe Singapore … I can express myself, I can earn money for myself. |
Has the Sanggar Ciliwung band here managed to help Ciliwung? So, indirectly, I raised the level of music in Sanggar Ciliwung. Because there is no teacher, just me and Muis to organize. I don’t know why the others respect me, they do what I say. So I’m the chairman. Because I want to be. When you go out to peform, do people get to know more about Ciliwung? Yes, of course. Our performance, our events. Many journalists and TV media take our events and broadcast them on TV. They make Ciliwung well-known like that. And at the music festivals, all the big events, we always attract the media. Because we have a relationship, a connection with the journalists, TV media. And they like Sanggar Ciliwung too, because they can get news here too. So when we have events, we invite them to report our activities. Yes, we have a mutually beneficial relationship. |
How do you think the Sanggar has helped the community here? Before Sandyawan was here, this area, Bukit Duri, was a dangerous area. Criminals and crimes. So the if taxi driver ask passengers: “Where do you want to go?” If they reply, “Bukit Duri,” the taxi driver would say no, because they are afraid. And then Sandyawan came. Sanggar Ciliwung was not like this a long time ago. It was a small house, with a plastic roof. A slope to the river, just like that. The first progamme in Sanggar Ciliwung was to help people build their houses. So every building in Bukit Duri was helped by Sanggar Ciliwung. The Sanggar contributed to their house. And the mosque. And the toilet and restroom. And cleaning the water, looking after nutrition. Everywhere, Sanggar Ciliwung has been. And there is a system, during floods, where we build public kitchens, we build a mosque, to help people. Even medical care. Many! So the people can have an easier life. |
We have heard of the term Anak Pinggiran. What does it mean? Marginalised children. It’s a stigma, given by the government or the upper classes. We cause the flooding, throw the garbage, we have no discipline, and we are slum-dwellers. There are many types of terms for pinggiran, like pinggiran in the street, in the river, in the city. Many types of pinggiran. It’s a stigma for us, because we are seen as not disciplined, untidy, and bad. To the government, we are bad. What do you think about being given such a label? In this area, we are united. We help each other. Sometimes when there are people who are sick or when people die, the others in this area help collect money to contribute. The residents here, they always do something to help. Even though they are poor, they can still help people. That’s the power of the people, of the citizens here. This makes Sandyawan proud. Like the tsunami last year, everyone here was sent, to take turns with Sandyawan, to go to Aceh. After they came back, a different group went. |
Are the people in this community attempting to break free of this label? Of course we try to break through the stigma of anak pinggiran, or people pinggiran, through our programmes. Because these programmes are government concerns too: environment, clean water, education, economy, etc. I want to show the government that we have the same goals. We show that our people here can organise the village, so we can be better. It will be difficult to evict this area, because of our efforts. You can see the other area at the riverbed, many evictions, but here, the government will think twice because there’s the compost house. For our events, we always invite the government here, and the governor too. I go to his office and give him an invitation letter. But he said: “I cannot come, but I always encourage your programmes.” He doesn’t come, because the government wants to evict this area, and if he came to our event, what would the other governors will think? That he’s a betrayer. So that’s why he said he can only wish us good luck, but he cannot be here. |
| Why does the governmet want to evict this area? Capitalism. In Indonesia, there is much corruption in the government because those who are rich and have lots of money want to build malls and hotels. Sandyawan has the eviction plans. We will be evicted from here. Sandyawan has the book, with the picture, the types of buildings. But until now, the government hasn’t done their plan. And if I’m not wrong, Sandyawan has heard that World Bank has given the Indonesian government the money to evict us. But until now, it’s just a plan. I don’t know when. For long time now, it’s just a plan. Are there any plans in place to deal with the situation if the government does evict this place one day? Our aim at the Sanggar is to be a pilot project, so this village can be a model to other villages. To show that they can organise their space, everything—their sanitation, their garbage. That is Sandyawan’s aim. To be a pilot project for the government to see, to prove to the government that we can manage by ourselves, so for our events and our programs, we never take money from the government. |
Why don't you accept the money? Many [political] parties come here, to help people, to give some money to people, so people will choose their party to sit in the parliament. But we don’t cooperate with the party. They plan to take over the programmes at Sanggar Ciliwung, so they can be famous. Compost, clean water, nutrition, health... they offer to take over what we have. Like criminals, in secret, they do that here. One important reason the government wants to evict this area is because of the annual flooding... They reason like that, but in Jakarta there will be flooding forever. The government made the flood canals, two of them, at the west and the east, but still there are floods. That is just a political manouevre. I think it’s just politics. Do you think anything can be done to stop the floods? I don’t. The flooding cannot be stopped. |
When the floods come, do the people still stay here? They stay on the road. They make tents and shelters. We can teach them to organise a public kitchen. We just give materials like rice, oil, food, and they organize. The Sanggar just gives and they can take. Almost every time when there is a flood. How long do the floods usually last? Just a day, but the flood in 2007, that reached until almost the second floor, lasted two weeks. So during that time Pele’s hair [another Sanggar volunteer] became dreadlocks, because we swam everyday to distribute the food. Pele swam and didn’t shower. Everything’s from the pump, and it stopped, so it was difficult to get clean water. During the flooding, you actually swim across to provide supplies? Yes. Because during the flooding, there are many people who cannot move, in their house, so we bring food, rice, to them. They don’t move to other places. Because they are on top, on the roof, we throw food to them. I have some experience with floods, because Sandyawan sent us—me, Muis, Pele and others—seven children to Tanggerang, Cengkareng, to help people once. |
What happened then? At that time I was in senior high school. I took one boat. Just children and young people. But over there, there were government agencies. They were afraid to see the area, the place of the flooding. We didn’t care, we just went. The people from the agencies were afraid to go to the area. We didn’t have the skills, we just had the determination to save people, and they just watched. They showed their equipment, but didn't do anything. Isn't that dangerous? Dangerous? Yes, challenging (laughs). Two people died in Kampong Pulo in 2007, when the floods lasted for two weeks. They died because they had no food. Difficult to survive in Kampong Pulo, because the currents were very strong, difficult to cross, and they died. |
 ⓒ These red poles can be found throughout the area and serve to measure the water level during the monsoon period, which may reach as high as more than two metres. |
 ⓓ The poles also have eyelets for attaching ropes or chains when crossing during floods. |
 ⓔ These water pumps are heavily utilised by the villagers, as many of the homes do not have direct access to municipal water. They are inoperable during floods. |
