Educating the Community to Love the Environment

Defri Werdiono

· 5 minutes read

In the midst of his activities in a culinary business, Ahmad Yani, 38, still has the time to encourage the community to pay more attention to the environment. In addition, he encourages them to use the potential around them to get extra income for their families.

The weather was hot in the village of Gampingan, Pagak district, Malang regency, East Java, on Tuesday afternoon, earlier this month. The village looked quiet. Every now and then, vehicles passed the main road in the village.

Early in the day during Ramadan, the villagers who lived at the edge of the Sengguruh dam chose to stay at home. Gampingan is known as a dry area. The percentage of wet farms is quite small. Many of the villagers work as limestone miners. Some do other jobs in the nearby town.

Three years ago, as part of the efforts to increase their incomes, which were too low to support their families, dozens of residents took the initiative to establish a garbage bank. Established in May 2016, the garbage bank still operates and is managed by a village-owned company.

One of the pioneers of the garbage bank was Ahmad Yani. "I set up the garbage bank with 12 other residents. At first we talked about we could find additional income. Some of them were construction workers, farm laborers and drivers. Their incomes had remained the same for a long time. They wanted a change," he said.

After the garbage bank was established, Yani and his friends wanted to make something more than just a place to collect garbage. They needed a place that could be used as a forum to learn, not only about the economy, but also about the environment. They then set up a forum that they called Sido Manfaat environment learning center.

The learning center, which was established at the end of 2016, is located beside Yani\'s house. They built a small building with a cemented floor, hardboard and woven bamboo walls and asbestos roof. The materials were obtained from the members and some from the village office.

The small 3 by 7 meter building is used by Yani to hold meetings with fellow members and residents. They share knowledge about environmental issues and handling waste, including how to recycle used goods into handicrafts.

In addition to being equipped with murals and banners containing messages about the environment, plus a number of green plants, there are around 600 books in the learning center. They consist of literature, agriculture and animal husbandry books as well as children\'s books. The forum is thus a small library for children and adults in the village.

The Sido Manfaat environmental learning center was called the Gampingan Gemar Membaca (GGM) library. The GGM won the best public library competition in the subdistrict in 2018.

"We want to make our village more advanced and have competitiveness. So far, most of the villages in southern Malang have been underestimated. We want to prove that we have the potential to move forward," he said.

In addition to sharing and training on waste recycling, according to Yani, the learning center holds an Environmental Literacy Month every year. The event that is held every August comprises of activities including discussions about garbage banks, composting and biopori. "I also offer this program to students who want to carry out their field research through social media. Student groups from several campuses in Malang have participated in this program," said the man who was a member of the Health Forum of Malang regency

Yani acknowledged that the environment was important for the residents. There are still many people who do not understand how to deal with the environment correctly because of a lack of education. He gave an example of how people were still used to burning paper waste from a paper factory near the village.

After sorting out the paper waste, the unused materials were burned by the residents. In fact, many residents took the raw material waste from the factory.

It is also related to limestone mining that has been going on for a long time. In cases like this, Yani cannot immediately ban them from mining because they have carried it out for decades and has become the lifeblood of their family.

"However, it cannot be continued. There should be a solution. We must prepare alternative economic resources according to the potential of each person. It is not easy. For example, the Kera valley, located in the Gampingan mining area, is a potential tourist destination. We try to develop it and involve limestone miners in future tourism activities," he said.

The steps that can be taken at the current stage, according to Yani, are to provide more education so that the community will understand. All of that, of course, requires patience and will certainly take time.

That’s why the Sido Manfaat environmental learning group set up four more forums, which Yani called working groups. The five working groups are the Sido creative womens’ group, the Sido farmers’ group, Sido fish farming group, Sidomulyo women farmers\' group and Sido Asri garbage bank.

The working groups were formed according to the interests of each resident. At present, each working group has dozens of members and they have enjoyed the benefits. "The fish farming group recently received local government assistance in the form of ponds and 20,000 catfish seeds. There are also corporate social responsibility activities from the paper company. Now the 18 members have their own pool. After harvesting, the fish is sold to the market in Malang. The results are pretty good," said the man who only received education up to high school level.

According to Yani, talking about waste is indeed inseparable from several things. It is not only about the environment, but also other things such as social, creativity and economic potential. Therefore, the father of one child said he will continue to encourage the community to do the best for their environment.

Ahmad Yani

Born: Malang, May 18, 1981

Wife: Ita Andriani (35)

Child: Anisa Zulfa A (14)

Education:

- MI Sumberjo elementary school

- SMP Islam Gampingan junior high school

- SMA NU Kepanjen senior high school

Editor:

kompascetak