Piles of garbage dumped by residents in a field near Kampung Toplang in Tegal Alur subdistrict, West Jakarta, used to be burned or left to rot, polluting the area and harming the kampung children who play in the field.

But last year, a group of unemployed men from the kampung built a bamboo hut on the field, where they make compost out of the organic waste and sort the nonorganic recyclable waste to be resold.

The men, who call themselves "Perkumpulan Hijau" (Green Club), have not only been reducing the waste piles in the area -- they have also been making at least Rp 1 million (US$109) a month from their kampung's waste.

One Green Club member, Abdul Radi, had only been interested in making some money at first but was later amazed they could turn more than 80 percent of the kampung's daily waste into useful compost and money.

"I started to think we could actually clear away piles of garbage throughout all Tegal Alur, and even throughout the whole city," he said.

A few months ago, Radi asked the Tegal Alur subdistrict chief to allow the Green Club to give simple training to residents in the area so they could do the same in their kampungs.

The chief did not give a positive response. Rather, he told the club to stop their activities because they were using other people's land.

"The chief didn't understand our point. We plan to keep on going, but it's not going to be easy spreading the message because people tend to listen to their leader," said the father of two.

Radi resolved to continue his club's campaign, planning to run in the next election for chief of the community unit.

"By becoming a leader, I can reach many more residents," he said.

The Green Club was pioneered by Berkah Gamulya and Jamaludin. The two, who are better known as Mul and Jamal, were concerned about the waste problem and wanted to help the poor people in the area.

They had been working together advocating on behalf of the city's poor at the Urban Poor Consortium in the early 2000s. They met again in late 2006, when Jamal was running a waste recycling business in Tegal Alur.

"Jamal told me about the situation in the kampung and together we started to build the kampung people's awareness of the waste problem," said Mul, a 29-year-old man from Dumai, Riau.

"We started by approaching those in the community with the most urgent problem, (that is) the need for money. We hung out with young unemployed men, and once in a while in our conversations, we raised the idea of making money from the garbage," said Jamal, who is in his 30s.

In early 2007, a dozen young men got interested in the idea and with Jamal and Mul built the bamboo hut, which they call Rumah Kompos (Compost House).

They make compost from the waste using the simplest and cheapest technique they could find on the Internet. They put chopped waste into piles and turn them upside down once every three days, turning the waste into compost in 45 days.

The club gives the compost to residents to use in their gardens, and they make money by selling the nonorganic waste, such as paper, glass and cans, to Jamal.

After several months Jamal and Mul handed the club over to the residents, who have gained confidence in asking local households to pre-sort their garbage and offering to buy the waste.

"The plan was for the residents to become self-sufficient in saving their environment. Now, we only give advice once in a while," said Mul.

He said his dream was to reduce waste as much as possible, especially in areas where poor people live, and free the city from piling garbage.

"There are many organizations and communities doing the same, on an even larger scale and using more sophisticated techniques than us," he said.

"Together we can all clean the city, it's not impossible." (dre)

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