The Sukunan Program Partnership
Leadership
At the centre of this program is Iswanto, a modest and softly-spoken man in his mid-30s who lives in a small house in Sukunan with his wife and two young children. Iswanto grew up in a more remote village in the district where he was the youngest of 9 children in his family. A serious student, he came into Yogyakarta to study at university in the 1990s.
Iswanto studied to be a teacher and graduated at the top of his class. He went on to do a Master's degree in Tropical Medicine, and is now a Lecturer at the Polytechnic of Health in Yogyakarta. Iswanto first became interested in waste management when he discovered that mosquitoes carrying dengue fever were breeding in water held by plastic rubbish.
Download Mr Iswanto's curriculum vitae, songs and poems
The Australian Connection
Iswanto first met Lea Jellinek and Ed Kiefer in 2003, when they were living in Yogyakarta as Resident Directors of the Australian Consortium for In-Country Indonesian Studies (ACICIS), a program supporting university students studying in Indonesia. Lea and Ed had attracted some critical attention in the elite suburb where they lived when they planted bananas, papayas and other edible plants around their house instead of the usual merely ornamental gardens. They also colonised the roadside verges with fruiting plants that could be freely harvested by poorly-paid servants, workers and passers-by.
Iswanto visited Lea and Ed and liked what he saw in their home, including the composting of all biodegradable kitchen waste, and recycling of bottles, tins, and paper. Iswanto was already concerned with litter aiding the breeding of mosquitoes, and he had been experimenting with composting his own kitchen. Lea and Ed became volunteer advisors to the Sukunan Program, and Lea found a donor to provide modest financial support. Research and academic support for the project has been provided by the Monash Asia Institute.
Download Curriculum Vitaes for Dr Lea Jellinek and Mr Ed Kiefer.
Australian tour and lectures in 2006
In March-April 2006, the Australian donor provided funds for Iswanto's first journey out of Indonesia so that he could share his ideas and learn about Australia's best practices in waste management, recycling, composting toilets, alternative energy and environmental education.
Iswanto and Lea Jellinek presented a series of lectures to a number of Australian institutions. The illustrated seminars showcased the achievements of the Sukunan project in the three years of its operation. The villagers of Sukunan adopted practices of recycling, including separation of waste into bins for recycling, composting of organic waste and re-use of packaging materials to make carry bags. Jobs and income have been created, mosquito breeding sites have been reduced, air quality has improved, and fruit trees have benefited from compost.
The project has generated considerable local and national interest in Indonesia as a model for environmentally sustainable development.
Download
Lecture
(powerpoint presentation) (Caution: This is a very large
file - 139 MB)
Download and
view key achievements in Iswanto's
Australian Tour, 4 March - 14 May 2006
Iswanto, Lea and Ed are pleased to report that the talks generated considerable interest and exchange of information in Australia. They wish to thank the following people and organizations for sharing ideas and providing encouragement and support for the tour:
The Southeast Asia Node of the Australian Research Council, Asia Pacific Futures Research Network (APFRN) http://www.sueztosuva.org.au for funding for the Australian tour.