Save it for a rainy day:  Residents of Sawah village in Ciputat, South Tangerang, along with architects from the architectural community Design as Generator (DAG) and students from Pelita Harapan University and the Jakarta Intercultural School, dig holes for biopores as part of DAG'€™s Nabung Aer (Save Water) project last Sunday. (JP/FOY)

Dozens of residents in neighborhood unit (RT) No. 5 of community unit (RW) No. 1 in Sawah village, Ciputat, South Tangerang, spent last Sunday getting their hands dirty digging around 80 holes for biopores to retain water in their area. The activity was carried out under the Nabung Aer (Save Water) project, initiated by six architects from the architectural community Design as Generator (DAG).

Architect Martin L. Katoppo, said that the biopores helped absorb rainwater during rainy season, and helped mitigate water shortages during the dry season.

'€œWhen the rainy season comes, we have flooding. And when the dry season comes, we have a lack of water. So, why don'€™t we save the rainwater to be used during the dry season?'€ Martin told The Jakarta Post.

To make a biopore, Martin said, residents used a special manual drill to dig a one-meter-deep hole. Then, they inserted a one-meter-long plastic pipe, with a diameter of around 10 centimeters, with small holes that allowed maggots to crawl inside.

'€œAfter that, a long custom-made metal stick, commonly called a ladle, is inserted into the pipe,'€ Martin said.

Another architect Ruth E. Oppusunggu, who is also Martin'€™s wife, said that the holes made by the residents would not only absorb rainwater but also manage organic waste.

'€œThe residents need to only fill the pipes with their daily organic waste. After around two months, the waste will have turned into compost that will be stuck to the ladle and can be collected by pulling the ladle out of the pipe,'€ Ruth said.

DAG also distributed around 150 Four O'€™clock flower and chili plant seeds to 20 families in the neighborhood.

'€œThe chili plants, at least, can be used for daily cooking or even be sold at markets. See? It also has economic value,'€ Ruth said.

She added that the families that received the seeds were determined by the neighborhood'€™s Karang Taruna youth organization, as they knew who could responsibly care for the plants.

For most of the residents, it was their first time making biopores.

'€œI'€™ve just learned about biopores from DAG and I think they'€™re good to help overcome environmental problems in this village, such as waste and puddles,'€ said 23-year-old Karang Taruna member Lucky.

Six students from Pelita Harapan University'€™s school of design, Tangerang, and ten students from Jakarta Intercultural School (JIS), South Jakarta, also participated in the event.

Seyna, a grade 11 student from JIS, said that she was very excited to participate in an activity that could help the city prepare for flooding.

'€œThe biopores not only help the environment in the neighborhood, but also unite people because they have to work together. All countries need to know about this technique. It'€™s really worth doing and better than going to a mall,'€ said the girl who came from Senegal, West Africa.

DAG'€™s Martin said that the activity was crowd-funded through social media. '€œOne biopore hole, which needs a PVC [polyvinyl chloride] pipe and a ladle, costs around Rp 90,000 (US$6.15),'€ Martin said.

He added that it was not the first time DAG had conducted such activities. DAG carried out a similar project in Pondok Pucung village in February.

Later, he said, the project would spread to other residences throughout Greater Jakarta.

'€œWe are open for all residents who want to make biopores in their residential areas. But we'€™re only facilitators. It has to be the residents themselves who work on the biopores, from digging to making use of the compost,'€ he said. (foy)

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