The Story of Dwi Angga, the Gen Z Farmer from Rawa Malang in North Jakarta Who Transformed a Shabby Plot into a Thriving Space

On a pleasant afternoon on Friday (8/5/2026), Dwi Angga Mukti sat relaxed in a wooden gazebo beside his urban farming garden in RT 06/RW 10, Rawa Malang, Semper Timur, North Jakarta. A glass of coffee was in his hand. Occasionally, a small smile appeared as the 26-year-old youth answered questions about the garden he had pioneered since 2024. A few minutes earlier, Angga had been busy serving a mother who bought mustard greens from his harvest. On the approximately 1.5-hectare plot named Bangun Karya Mandiri, various plants grew in neat rows. Water spinach, basil, mustard greens, chillies, and several other crops filled the area that was once known as a shabby plot and a site for illegal dumping. “It started just wanting to green it up,” said Angga when asked by Kompas.com about his reasons for entering the urban farming world, on Friday. He recounted that the creation of his urban farm stemmed from his activities in Karang Taruna. At that time, he and his friends saw the leftover land from reservoir construction in their neighbourhood lying idle and shabby. That area was also often filled with illegal rubbish. Angga, who had long enjoyed planting activities, then tried to utilise that land. His interest in the environment also grew from his activities in the Orang Indonesia (OI) organisation, a community of Iwan Fals music fans that conducted many social activities and tree-planting initiatives. Concern over the negative stigma of Rawa Malang was another reason that kept Angga tending the garden. “When we go out, Rawa Malang is known mostly as one of the red-light areas and famously as a slum village,” he said.