BGBJ, Indonesia
About the organisation
Our community faces a number of daily challenges at the landfill. These include poor quality housing, a lack of sanitation, work-related injuries and illness, and an unpleasant living environment. The low income nature of waste picking and a lack of skills and education reduces the opportunities available to working families. Many parents decide to keep their children from school as they work to supplement the family’s income.
We believe that children and young people are the seeds for a positive future at the landfill. BGBJ provides education, training, assistance, food and fun for kids who lack access to these resources. With education and skills training, we aim to provide alternatives for young people, giving them the tools and knowledge to break the poverty cycle and create a healthy and safe environment for themselves and their families.
We run a number of activities and projects at our Hostel/Hub. Every Sunday we run classes in a variety of topics, such as English, IT, health and nutrition, sports, music and art. Our upstairs workshop is used as an educational space to develop practical skills, and is the setting where out 'BGBJ Style' product line was created. BGBJ Style procuts consist of 'lifestyle components', such as home decor and furnishings, fashion accessories and natural body care products. With BGBJ Style we hope to extend our reach throughout the community by creating a social enterprise, offering safe working conditions, real-world skills and a decent wage.
BGBJ was built with the help, support and dedication of our visitors. Our cosy hostel hosts guests from all walks of life, who are welcome to stay and experience the realities of life on the landfill. We offer day trips from Jakarta, short term and long term accommodation, with many ways to contribute your skills as a volunteer.
The people behind it
Resa lovingly nicknamed "Princess of the Dump," created BGBJ (Seeds of Bantar Gebang) to provide education, food and empowerment to the children of the landfill, aiming to break the cycle of poverty and encourage them to continue with school. Resa’s family moved from Padang in West Sumatra when she was six to Bantar Gebang. At that time, Bantar Gebang was green with rice fields. Seeing these fields slowly turn into mountains of garbage motivated Resa to become the environmental activist that she is today. From a young girl teased at school for smelling like the landfill to the strong activist she is today, Resa is an inspiration to all of the youth living in Bantar Gebang. Resa is a waste expert and social entrepreneur. Experienced in community development, informal waste management and marketing, she works to empower the women and children of Bantar Gebang waste landfill who mostly live in poverty. She is a renowned facilitator among NGOs and activists working on environmental and entrepreneurship issues. She has already won several awards for her entrepreneur skills and her efforts for the community.
Latest updates
Projects
Running projects (4)
Projekt coronacommunitysupport (BGBJ)
Building a library, music studio and rooftop garden
Space where the kids can develop their knowledge and musical skills and a garden to grow vegetables
Provide sanitary facilities for the waste pickers families
We want to install a new toilet in the village accessible by the waste picker
Planned projects (1)
Trip to Swimming Pool
Allowing the childen to experience the swimming pool
Completed projects (8)
Land & Pendopo House for BGBJ
Paying for 125m2 of the purchased total 725 m2 of land & building the Pendopo House 12 x 6 m for our outdoor activities.
BGBJ Rescue
Renting a warehouse for BGBJ
Community Empowerment Centre (CEC)
Construction of new 2 floor centre for professional skill training, cooking and upcycled products
Corona Community Support for 162 families
We want to be able to support food for the wastepicker families in Indonesia during pandemic COVID-19
- Give the families food supplies to feed their family members.
Every sunday a nutritious meal
We want to consistently be able to cook a nutritious meal for the kids every sunday.
- Create work for the mothers who come to BGBJ to help cook and clean
Improve Facilities at BGBJ - Step 2
Finishing our two new rooms on the second floor. One will function as private room for our guests/volunteers and the other room will function as our office.
- Finish off the fences to secure the kids or young adults not fall from the third floors.
- Canopy to stop rain fall into second floors and make all the wooden furnitures wet and also flooding inside the upcycle workshop and also the kids can use the area for yoga class with canopy.
Kids at the Zoo
Taking the kids to the zoo to let them have a nice and happy experience.
Improve Facilities at BGBJ - Step 1
Building two new rooms on the second floor. One will function as private room for our guests/volunteers and the other room will function as our office.
The other room will function as an office so our team can work in a private work environment. We hope this will boost our team's productivity which benefits the organisation.