Food Independence, Waste Freedom, Indonesia Independence!

For the Indonesian Independence Day observance, PT. Indmira is collaborating with Project B Indonesia team to hold a workshop on waste treatment. Project B Indonesia is a local business in waste upcycling. They transform plastic wastes into all kinds of crafts. We are hoping that this collaboration will make us be more responsible and aware of our wastes, in addition to sparking our creativity.

“Food Independence, Waste Freedom” is the theme for this event, which takes place at our Kebun Sendang on 16 August 2018. Approximately 20 participants, consisting of university students, local women, and our employees, are invited to bring their own plastic waste to be transformed into crafts together. Project B Indonesia starts us with transforming plastic packaging into bags. Everyone makes unique bags for themselves, which they will be able to use and reuse, and thus reduce wastes.

The next activity is making planting pots using plastic bottles. In an urban setting where open spaces are sparse, there is not enough greenery because most people think that gardening requires a large area. In this session, we show them that that is not always the case. Using empty plastic bottles that are often found in a densed neighborhood, we can garden upwards by stacking these plastic bottles vertically, and thus verticulture. These plastic pots can be propped up with racks or hanged on ropes. By gardening vertically, we can save so much space and/or use the little area that is available, so there is no excuse not to plant. PT. Indmira provides seeds of sunflowers, mustard greens, pakchoy, etc.

The last exercise is to recycle organic wastes, especially from the kitchen. What to do with those plants in the garden? They need fertilizers to grow optimally. Synthetic fertilizers are readily available at gardening shops, but these chemicals can be toxic when present in a large amount. In the meantime, we produce materials to make organic fertilizers in the form of food leftovers. Organic fertilizers are a safe substance, especially in a household, because they can degrade readily. By recycling our kitchen wastes, we can help reduce pollution in our environment and have fun in the garden too.

The end of the event consists of enjoying unique meals and beverages. We serve multi-grain rice with vegetables from our garden. There is also sukun (breadfruit) snack and iced telang tea for everyone. Many attendees enjoy this unusual banquet because they cannot find the dishes in any restaurant.

Happy 73rd Independence Day, Indonesia!

Food Independence,

Waste Freedom!