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South Jakarta's 'orange troops' spread joy with urban farm
On a 500-square-meter plot of land on Jl. Karang Asri IV, the orange troops plant various vegetables, such as bok choy, water pumpkins, long beans, spinach, water spinach and mustard greens.
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A worker of the Public Facility Maintenance Agency (PPSU) takes care of an urban farm on a plot of land in Lebak Bulus in South Jakarta on Wednesday. (JP/Vela Andapita)
K
nown for their work in keeping the city clean, the personnel of the Public Facility Maintenance Agency (PSSU) – aka the “orange troops” – in Lebak Bulus subdistrict in Cilandak, South Jakarta, are also devoting their time to working on a small urban farm.
It was almost 12:00 noon on Wednesday when Hamdja and Murjani arrived at the farm. They had just finished their regular task of sweeping the roads within the subdistrict.
On a 500-square-meter plot of land on Jl. Karang Asri IV, Hamdja, Murjani and their fellow orange troops planted various vegetables such as bok choy, water pumpkins, long beans, spinach, water spinach and mustard greens.
“The land used to be a disposal site. Three years ago, there was only mountain of trash here,” 70-year-old Hamdja told The Jakarta Post, explaining that the farm was established in 2016.
“One day, the subdistrict officers asked us PPSU personnel to clean up the area. We wondered, ‘How can we stop people from throwing their trash here?’ The answer was by planting vegetables and turning it into a farm.”
Working on the farm is now part of the group’s daily tasks. The workers divide their duties depending on the shift: those who work on the streets during the morning shift, from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., are required to tend to the farm at 1 p.m.
During their regular two-hour visits to the farm, the orange troops must tend to the crops by preparing the soil, planting the seeds, watering the plants and providing the fertilizer.
