Precious Trash

During their breaks, women vegetable farmers in Jernih Jaya village turn plastic waste into handicrafts. Motivated by Kaliyem, over a dozen women in the village appeal to residents to manage their own trash.

KOMPAS/YOLA SASTRA (JOL) 02-01-2020

Kaliyem, 45, who chairs the Jernih Jaya Makmur Farmers Group, holds up a bag made from plastic waste that she and Jaya Makmur members made, on Thursday (2/1/2020) in Jernih Jaya village, Gunung Tujuh district, Kerinci regency, Jambi.

Kaliyem, 45, showed a knitted hat with yellow, red, purple, white and black patterns. Adeptly, she demonstrated how to knit a hat made from used plastic bags.

“I learned [to knit and weaving] as an autodidact. At first I learned from a relative in Jambi. Then I found the tricks of the trade myself to top off my handiwork,” said Kaliyem at her home in Jernih Jaya village, Gunung Tujuh district, Kerinci regency, Jambi, on Thursday (2/1/2020).

Knitted hats are among the plastic-waste handicrafts produced by Kaliyem and her peers in the Jernih Jaya Makmur Women’s Farmer Group (KWT). In addition, they craft various bags, wallets, pencil boxes and other items from plastic trash, like packages of instant coffee, drinks, air fresheners, seasoning sachets, beverage cups and plastic bags.

Dozens of handicrafts of diverse designs are neatly arranged in a glass cabinet. According to Kaliyem, only a small number of their products are displayed. Most have already been sold.

Cleanliness

KWT-Jernih Jaya Makmur began processing waste into handicrafts in 2014. The activity was initiated by Kaliyem, a local health worker. The idea struck her as she was concerned about the large amount of plastic waste scattered around the village. As a health worker, she was worried the plastic waste pollution could have negative impacts on health and the environmental.

Kaliyem realized that unless properly managed, plastic waste could be very dangerous to humans and the environment. Plastic waste takes 450 years to decompose and can block the flow of rivers leading to floods, which not only cause material losses but also claim human lives.

Rivers also take plastic waste downstream and into the sea. Plastic pollution in the sea can contaminate marine biota like fish. Contaminated fish are caught by fishermen and later consumed by people, including people in upstream regions.

“So, dumping plastic waste has negative impacts. When we just discard our waste, we will face the consequences later,” said Kaliyem.

KOMPAS/IWAN SETIYAWAN

Kaliyem

Recycling

With these concerns, Kaliyem started experimenting with making handicrafts from plastic waste. Although it took her some time, after a trial and error process she was able to make shopping bags.

Kaliyem showed her plastic-waste woven bags to her KWT peers. The group members were impressed by Kaliyem’s work. Kaliyem encouraged the KWT members to also start recycling plastic waste.

With the support of the KWT members, Kaliyem began communicating the importance of waste management to the community. They called on residents to apply the reuse, reduce and recycle (3R) method.

It’s not as simple as imagined to draw residents’ interest.

From this activity, the group secured suppliers of plastic waste for recycling and set up a waste bank. Some residents contribute plastic waste voluntarily, others follow a barter system (exchanging waste for handicrafts) and others have become regular donors.

“It’s not as simple as imagined to draw residents’ interest. Quite often people make light of what we’re trying to convey. However, we aren’t losing hope,” said Kaliyem.

To date, around 50 families have participated in supplying plastic waste. These families not only come from Jernih Jaya and other villages in Gunung Tujuh district, but also from villages in Kayu Aro district. Since the activities began, Jernih Jaya village has been cleared of plastic trash.

Apart from receiving plastic waste for handicrafts, the waste bank also receives different kinds of plastic bottles, like transparent bottles and atom bottles used for pesticides. Clear bottles are priced at Rp 500 per kilogram and atom bottles at Rp1,000 per kilogram. The bottles are then supplied to junkmen.

KOMPAS/IWAN SETIYAWAN

Kaliyem, 45, (left) who chairs the Jernih Jaya Makmur Farmers Group, holds up a bag made from plastic waste that she and Jaya Makmur members made, on Thursday (2/1/2020) in Jernih Jaya village, Gunung Tujuh district, Kerinci regency, Jambi.

Spare time

Kaliyem said making handicrafts had been a spare time job. During break time after tending vegetables, the female farmers take the opportunity to weave or knit plastic waste into basic handicrafts.

Murni, 35, secretary of KWT-Jernih Jaya Makmur, said she was interested in joining the group because of her awareness of the danger of plastic waste. Moreover, the communal activity allows the women to relax. “We can share our experiences while gathering to make handiwork,” said Murni.

The group is able to produce at least five handicraft items per month with prices ranging from Rp 25,000 to Rp 150,000 per piece. The monthly turnover is around Rp 500,000. The sale proceeds go to the group’s treasury.

The Kaliyem and KWT-Jernih Jaya Makmur members have earned various awards. As a group, they received awards from the Environment and Forestry Ministry in the Climate Village Program (ProKlim) for Jernih Jaya village (2014) and Margo Mulyo hamlet, Jernih Jaya village (2016). The Jambi governor also granted a provincial ProKlim award to Margo Mulyo hamlet (2017).

At least we aren’t part of the problem.

Individually, Kaliyem received a Kalpataru (environment award) in the Environment Pioneering category at the Kerinci regency level (2016), a Kalpataru nomination in the Environment Pioneering category at the national level from the KLHK (2018), and was granted a Kalpataru in the Environment Care category at the Kerinci regency level (2019).

Kaliyem hopes KWT-Jernih Jaya Makmur can contribute more to plastic waste management and community education. She aspires to have a plastic processing machine for her group so that they can process the waste they cannot turn into handicrafts on their own.

Their achievements can be promoted as an educational tourism package. This objective is in line with the development of tourism villages through the tourist destination of Rawa Bento (Kerinci).

Kaliyem admits her group’s efforts are yet to have a major impact, but she is optimistic it will not be in vain.

“We realize that the problem of waste in the country is very large. At least we aren’t part of the problem,” added Kaliyem.

Kaliyem

Born: Kerinci, 1 May 1974

Husband: Sofyan, 51

Children: Alex Minja Molis, 26, and Hana Yusriah, 16

Education: Senior High School (Package C)