Environmentally friendly technology abound in Yogya

Environmentally friendly technology abound in Yogya

By Heru Prasetya

YOGYAKARTA (JP): You need water and electricity but live in a
remote barren area? Don't worry, just drop in at the Langit
Lintang Samodra Foundation in Sambisari village, Sleman, some 17
kilometers east of here.

Here you will find a laboratory of nature, whose creations
have spread across the country and even overseas.

Even at a glance, the laboratory gives you an environmentally-
friendly impression as it is uses materials that are usually
discarded by people.

According to the laboratory workers, the materials are bought
from scavengers, not only because it is cheap but also because it
helps clean the environment.

In a way the laboratory resembles a workshop.

"It is actually our workshop," said the foundation's director
Mohammad Seti Adji Sastroamidjojo, who is better known as Seno.

Earning his three university degrees abroad -- a B.Sc from the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), an M.Sc.E from UCLA
and a PhD from the Australian National University, the 79-year-
old Seno was a teacher at Ika Dai Gakko Jakarta for three years
from 1942 before moving to Yogyakarta. He fought as a soldier for
the country's independence before being entrusted to head the
Yogyakarta-based Gadjah Mada University's solar laboratory in
Karanggayam. Here lectured to students from his university or
from the University of Sarjanawiyata Tamansiswa.

Five years ago he retired from Gadjah Mada University to head
the Wind and Solar Natural Resources Research and Development
Center, which is part of the work carried out by the Langit
Lintang Samodra Foundation. Once in a while, he lectures at
universities if requested.

Windmill

Workers in his workshop bring Seno's ideas into reality, ideas
which mostly relate to the utilization of natural resources such
as the wind, the sun and the waves to create a clean environment.

One of his creations, the windmill, can now be found across
the country, such as in Bima in West Nusa Tenggara, Gombong in
Central Java and Ternate in Maluku. Besides local orders, the
workshop has also received orders from the Philippines,
Singapore, Sweden and the United States. The local windmills are
cheaper than imported ones.

The windmill which can be used for pumping water and
generating power, adopts a simple technology and only requires a
small capital. Some of the spare parts, for example, are obtained
from scavengers or are modified from used objects.

"Most important of all is its tested quality," Pak Seno said
proudly.

His windmill uses an perpendicular axle, popularly called the
Helix windmill. A 3.5-meter-long axle made of a 4-centimeter
diameter rod is placed perpendicularly to a 3m-long iron crossbar
with legs used as a frame. This axle will allow winds from every
direction to blow the vanes of the windmill.

Then, the three spiral-shaped blades of the windmill -- made
of a mixture of resin, catalyst, mat which is very soft gunny,
and some coloring -- will be put in place. When rotated by the
wind, the windmill will look like a large 2.8m diameter drum
rotating around the iron axle.

To pump out water, the windmill would have to be connected to
a mechanical pump. To generate power, the windmill would have to
be connected to a generator. Presently, the generator used in
Seno's windmill is the alternator of an automobile, which
generates direct currents (DC). The electricity is stored in a
battery. This direct current will then be passed into an inverter
to become alternate current of 220 volts and 50-60 Hertz, ready
to be used in households.

To make the windmill's vanes move, the wind must have a
minimum speed of 300 meter per minute. If the wind is of a lower
speed, the vanes will still rotate but the electricity generated
will not be effective. That's why beaches, where the winds are at
a speed of between 450 and 500 meters per minute, are the most
suitable place for the windmills. Otherwise, the windmills should
be situated in open places with no buildings obstructing the
wind.

This explains why Seno conducted a number of trial operations
of the windmill in coastal areas, example on Parangtritis beach
and on Glagah Indah beach.

He said they conducted these trial operations for several
years and the results had been satisfactory. After the trial
operations, the windmills were dismantled.

A windmill with the above specifications may cost some Rp 32
million to build. A windmill used for generating power for
lighting is capable of supplying 50 families with 50 watts of
power eight hours a day. This power is enough to light two neon
bulbs. When used for pumping water, the windmill can produce 6-
cubic-meter of water every eight hours.

The windmills have been used mostly to generate power and to
pump water to irrigate rice fields. In Yogyakarta, you can see
this mills in Medari, Sleman which were constructed under the
request of the locals.

Inexhaustible energy

Seno said the wind was an inexhaustible source of energy. A
windmill can be used even in the most remote area. Very clearly,
windmills are useful in places where electricity is still not
available or where people have to pay a lot for electricity from
the state electricity company.

A number of areas have enjoyed the "service" of this windmill.
In Ternate, for example, a windmill has been installed in Gebe
island.

"It is really an isolated place and an alternative power
source is the only way for these people to be able to enjoy
electricity," said Seno, who received in 1999 the Kalpataru
award.

Apart from the windmill, Seno has also invented many other
environment-related devices. His water heater, for example, is
now used in physiotheraphy.

This heater uses solar cells to absorb and store solar energy.
Water heated by solar energy is used for massaging patients
requiring physiotherapy. The Sayap Ibu Foundation in Yogyakarta
has used this device since 1988.

Seno also uses solar cells for his fish dryers, which use the
same principle as the water heater. Mushroom growers in Wonosobo,
Central Java now use these fish dryers to dry their mushrooms.

To Seno, the environment is everything and damage to the
environment is hazardous. That is why he strongly objects to
tree-felling activities. He never approves the utilization of
forest timber for paper production.

His fear for the adverse consequences of large-scale tree-
felling has inspired Seno to set up a paper mill with water
hyacinth as the raw material. Water hyacinth is abundantly
available and its use in paper production will help maintain a
clean environment, especially because many people have a strong
dislike for this water plant.

Seno is also against the use of nuclear power, particularly in
Indonesia. He said Indonesia had no urgent need for nuclear power
which could easily become a safety hazard. He believed that
continued use of nuclear power would only lead to great losses
for humanity.

One reason why he discourages the use of nuclear power in
Indonesia is because Indonesians have poor discipline.

"It may well be the case that those assigned to keep watch
over a nuclear power center will leave their work just for jagong
manten (attending wedding ceremonies). This is still an
incorrigible habit in our country."