David Dkam or Dewa Mahardika is a Balinese school teacher who is creating a new definition of transformers that blends the old meaning and the popular hero meaning. The bad guys are plastic waste and those who do not care for the environment. Plastic waste is a huge problem in Bali as shown in the fantastic new documentary now showing in theatres in Bali, Pulau Plastik, perhaps translated as Island of Plastic.

The good guys are The Transformers (check them on Facebook), school children committed transform the environment, heroes of managing plastic waste. They wear gloves and masks, just a little like ninjas, to clean rivers of plastic so they supply clean water downstream. They encourage the poor and elderly to participate. They work with schools and villages to develop Trash Banks. They collaborate with whoever they can to achieve their purpose.

And their purpose is to transform mindsets and culture. By instilling youthful love for a clean environment and commitment to achieving it, they are helping restore the beloved Balinese harmony between nature and humanity.

On Earth Day (April 22), David organized a celebration of cleaning the environment. People in villages across Bangli regency collected plastic from gutters, fields and rivers, and brought them to the celebration. There were prizes of chickens and shoes to those who collected most plastic, and a water dispenser for the village that collected the most. Participants washed the plastic and sold it to a trash bank, with newcomers opening accounts. And all participants received eggs.

David gave a speech. He said that they were doing their part of the governor’s 22-point Nangun Sat Kerthi Loka Bali policy, for “maintaining sanctity and harmony with nature to create a prosperous Bali”. Point 21 of this policy is “to develop a Balinese way of life that is orderly, and an environment that is green, beautiful and clean.”

The Transformers are not the only ones in the Bali community working on plastic waste and cleaning the environment. There are dozens of Plastic Banks now, river and beach clean-up days, supported by many local organizations. I have not lived anywhere where civil society so prizes a clean environment, and the government seems to care so little. In terms of Nangun Sat Kerthi Loka Bali civil society effort is just a part of point 21.

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