TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Kampung Berseri Astra Suntenjaya utilizes eco-friendly, climate-positive farming practices
As part of its commitment to support environmental preservation and protection in Indonesia, Astra held its annual 2022 Workshop Lingkungan (Environmental Workshop) by visiting the Kampung Berseri Astra (KBA) Suntenjaya.
Change Size
Head of corporate communications Astra Boy Kelana Soebroto (left) along with Kampung Berseri Astra (KBA) Suntenjaya organizer Gunawan Azhari (right) during a tree-planting event at the foot of Mount Bukit Tunggul, west Bandung, West Java, at the Workshop Lingkungan Astra 2022 on Nov. 26.
A
s part of its commitment to support environmental preservation and protection in Indonesia, Astra held its annual 2022 Workshop Lingkungan (Environmental Workshop) by visiting the Kampung Berseri Astra (KBA) Suntenjaya in West Java with journalists, bloggers and the Astra Group corporate communications team.
With 170 locations throughout Indonesia, the KBA program invites local communities to collectively make changes to improve the quality of people's lives across four pillars:health, education, environment, and entrepreneurship .
The program’s objectives have manifested in a number of initiatives, such as increasing awareness about the importance of going to school, promoting healthier living, keeping the environment clean and green and increasing community-welfare standards.
"As a member of the Kampung Berseri Astra Hijau, often referred to as the Climate Village Program (Proklim), KBA Suntenjaya is a village that focuses its program development in the field of environmental sustainability, which aims to create beautiful, healthy villages, and resilient against climate change, which is currently becoming the main cause of environmental issues among communities," explained Chief of Corporate Affairs Astra Riza Deliansyah
During the workshop, participants were invited to get to know more about KBA Suntenjaya villagers’ efforts in preserving the environment and experience gardening activities directly with KBA Suntenjaya organizer Gunawan Azhari in the village, which is located at the foot of Mount Bukit Tunggul.
Though the village lands are limited, KBA Suntenjaya villagers were able to maximize their plots by growing ornamental plants, consumption plants and herbal plants that have medicinal properties on their roofs and yards.
Aside from creating a greener environment, the plants also serve as a source of food, which also improves the village’s food security. The rest of the harvest can also be sold to collectors and increase the income of residents.
Farming while protecting nature
With farming and ranching being the main livelihoods of KBA Suntenjaya residents, the village implements an integrated agricultural system by combining the livestock and plantation sectors to improve crop quality, maintain natural and social order and build community welfare.
"With guidance from Astra, residents are starting to understand and practice how to produce basic needs in running sustainable agriculture and livestock businesses, such as fertilizer, food and animal feed, by implementing an integrated-farming system," said Gunawan Azhari, who actively invites residents to take care of their surrounding environment.
An example of the integrated-farming system at KBA Suntenjaya is the utilization of livestock manure to be processed into environmentally friendly organic fertilizer using the vermicomposting method, in which worms help compost the manure. The resulting fertilizers are then used by villagers for vegetable cultivation that is friendly to the environment.
At the same time, agricultural waste can be used for animal feed and composted to become a source of organic fertilizer.
In addition to being environmentally friendly, the results of agricultural businesses with the principle of zero-waste agriculture can also increase farmers' income as they reduce the cost of buying animal feed by using vegetable waste as a source of animal feed and livestock waste as a source of organic fertilizer for vegetables.
In order to increase the value of crops from their gardens and livestock, KBA Suntenjaya villagers also make various processed products such as banana sale, spinach chips, yogurt, caramel candies and coffee.
Furthermore, KBA Suntenjaya has also developed good water-management practices by utilizing rainwater as a water reserve that can be used for watering vegetables via a 5,000-liter capacity reservoir located outside residents' homes. Besides being vital during the dry season, the harvesting of rainwater is also able to suppress runoff that is too large and has the potential to cause flooding and erosion.
Astra's commitment in developing KBA Suntenjaya to become a vibrant, green and productive village is in line with its aspirations to prosper with the nation and support Indonesia's Sustainable Development Goals.
This article was published in collaboration with Astra.
