Green Clinic offers advice on building earth-friendly homes

Tifa Asrianti ,  The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Mon, 04/28/2008 11:40 AM  |  City

To encourage people to live a greener life, organization KKS Melati has introduced the Klinik Hijau (Green Clinic), which gives advice on how to build green houses at a relatively affordable price.

The organization set up a booth at the World Book Day festival held at Bank Mandiri Museum in Kota Tua. Visitors could consult designer Yanuar "Ninil" Prihana about their home plans.

Ninil said her clinic highlighted the importance of rainwater absorption in a house. She explained the greening strategies her clinic applied were park design, biopore making and hard material reduction.

"We find those the most applicable and affordable solutions for small houses," Ninil said.

She explained a small park only required around Rp 300,000 (US$33) per square meter, while biopore making cost just about nothing. She said anyone could make biopores by digging a one-meter-deep hole filled with black sugar palm fiber.

To avoid having a muddy yard during the rainy season, many house owners harden their outdoor areas with cement, making it non-permeable to rainwater. Ninil recommended house owners scrape the cemented outdoor area and replace it with grass block or paving block.

"The owners can have a neat outdoor area without reducing the soil's ability to absorb rainwater. Grass block and paving block are also affordable. We only have to pay between Rp 60,000 and Rp 120,000 per square meter," she said.

She said most people were reluctant to green their homes due to limited space. If it weren't for building regulations, people would design their house from one edge to the other, she added.

"People are unaware outdoor space can act as an extension of indoor space," she said.

She said homeowners could create a private area outdoors by planting thick trees, such as heliconia or canna, for the walls and build a pergola with creeping plants, such as Alamanda or Thumbergia for the roof.

"An outdoor space can be used as a foyer," she added.

A volunteer of KKS Melati, Virgina Veryastuti, said the clinic would be part of the organization's network. She said her organization supported all social activities held by their network.

"We understand global warming is an interesting subject. We hope the clinic will help people understand it is possible to have a green home at a relatively affordable price," she said.

Further information: www.klinikhijau.multiply.com or klinikhijau@yahoo.com.

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