East Jakarta Residents Transform Household Waste into Valuable Handicrafts

Jakarta (ANTARA) - Residents of RW 12, Malaka Jaya Ward, Duren Sawit District, East Jakarta, are transforming household waste into various high-value handicrafts. “Concern over waste issues has sparked creativity and economic opportunities for the community. This is evident in the activities,” said Siti Munawaroh, Chair of the Family Income Improvement Business (UP2K) group in RW 12, Malaka Jaya Ward, in Jakarta on Tuesday. A variety of creative products are produced by residents, from bags, wallets, tissue holders, to accessories made from recycled materials such as coffee wrappers, beverage packaging, and soap wrappers. In addition, residents produce clothing using natural printing techniques (ecoprint) with leaf motifs via eco-friendly steaming methods. The community empowerment activities are centred at two residents’ homes, serving as locations for UP2K activities and the “Rumah Terampil Hasanah Center” learning studio, led by Siti Munawaroh. Furthermore, the waste processing movement arose from residents’ concerns about environmental issues, particularly the high volume of waste dumped at the Bantargebang Integrated Waste Processing Site (TPST) in Bekasi, West Java. “This initiative began after our area received certification for the Provincial DKI Jakarta Climate Village Programme in 2021. We are saddened by the ever-increasing mountains of waste at TPST Bantargebang,” Siti explained. According to her, household waste is one of the largest contributors to the waste piles at TPST Bantargebang. Therefore, residents have started sorting waste at home to process it into economically valuable products. “When we see the mountains of waste at TPST Bantargebang and the rising potential of waste, we strive to sort household waste,” Siti said. The activities are not only focused on recycled material crafts. Around 50 residents in the group are also equipped with various other skills such as knitting, macramé crafts, acrylic beading, and natural fabric printing or ecoprint techniques. The “Rumah Terampil Hasanah Center” studio has been established since 2017 as a forum for education and empowerment for women. According to Siti, women play a crucial role in shaping family lifestyles, including environmental stewardship. “If the mother is educated, the environment and the next generation will also be saved,” Siti stated. The instructors teaching at the studio also come voluntarily to share knowledge without demanding payment. In addition to making handicrafts, residents manage a 700-square-metre vacant plot to produce compost and liquid organic fertiliser (POC). That land is also used as an urban farming area to support food security in the surrounding environment. For marketing, residents actively participate in various bazaars from ward, district, to provincial levels, including events supported by corporate CSR programmes. One such bazaar they joined was at Taman Literasi Kebayoran Baru, South Jakarta, some time ago. Siti hopes the government can expand product marketing so that more residents are motivated to process waste into creative products with selling value. Meanwhile, Duren Sawit District Head Kelik Sutanto appreciates the community-based waste management programme run by RW 12 residents in Malaka Jaya Ward. According to him, the activities align with the DKI Jakarta Provincial Government’s policies on waste sorting at the source. “Our task now is to facilitate and connect this RW 12 UP2K group with buyers. The challenge is that there are still not many buyers interested in UP2K products,” Kelik said. Kelik hopes the UP2K group continues to innovate designs so that the resulting products become more modern and appealing to various groups, especially the younger generation.