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BGBJ, Indonesia

About the organisation

BGBJ translates to 'The Seeds of Bantar Gebang'. Every day, 6000 tonnes of Jakarta's rubbish is dumped at Bantar Gebang landfill. BGBJ serves the families who make a small income from salvaging valuable materials from this waste, such as plastic, paper, metals, glass, and ewaste. BGBJ is a unique community asset functioning as both a hostel and a hub, a place that serves both visitors and the local community.

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

BGBJ
Resa Boenard grew up on Bantar Gebang, the landfill next to Jakarta. After studying, she went back to Bantar Gebang to found her NGO BGBJ. The kids call her "Ka", which means big sister.
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

Mar 2, 2021 · Facebook BGBJ hat gepostet:
Rumahku (my home) www.bgbj.org . . #bgbj #rumahku #rumahkubgbj #ourhomeonthedump #spendedirekt #thebestdumpever
Nov 17, 2020 · Facebook BGBJ hat gepostet:
SpendeDirekt, Switzerland 🇨🇭- BGBJ, Indonesia 🇮🇩 . . . #coordinating #annualevent #spendedirekt #bgbj #swisspeople #bgbjfamily #sharingiscaring...
Nov 15, 2020 · Facebook BGBJ hat gepostet:
Our Multilateral group call with SpendeDirekt! Rudra from NDC, Nepal Anton from BaleBengong, Indonesia Jean Paul from NYO, Rwanda Resa from BGBJ, Indonesia,...
Oct 22, 2020 · Facebook BGBJ hat gepostet:
BGBJ is our home on the dump 🏡 www.bgbj.org . . . . . #bgbj #home #landfill #community #spendedirekt #construction #construction2 #communitycenter...
Sep 24, 2020 · Facebook BGBJ hat gepostet:
Working with this amazing landfill view only at BGBJ 😎 . . . . . #bgbj #bgbjstyle #ouroffice #spendedirekt #thebijiisgrowing #socialenterprise...
Sep 18, 2020 · Facebook BGBJ hat gepostet:
Welcoming our campaign manager Mike Van Ahee from Rotterdam at our new office and a farewell to our urban farming manager Wilco Eimers. Thank you for...
Sep 14, 2020 · Facebook BGBJ hat gepostet:
#spendedirekt official visit from #switzerland, thank you Swiss people for supporting BGBJ. . . . . . #bgbj #meeting #officialvisit #communitydevelopment...
Jul 4, 2020 · Facebook BGBJ hat gepostet:
“BGBJ., Where TRASH, BEAUTY and LOVE in harmony” Resa Boenard, BGBJ co-founder 💚💚💚💚💚 www.bgbj.org . . . . . #bgbj #thebijiisgrowing #bijibesar...
May 4, 2020 · Facebook BGBJ hat gepostet:
BGBJ X SpendeDirekt The BGBJ Love - Corona Community Support! 💖 Special circumstances encouraged us to spread the love in these hard times and to let the...
May 3, 2020 · Facebook BGBJ hat gepostet:
Dear our generous donators., Thank you so much for helping our wonderful families in Bantar Gebang, we’re really amazed by all your kindness for donating to...

Projects

Running projects (4)

Running

Projekt coronacommunitysupport (BGBJ 29)

Running

Projekt coronacommunitysupport (BGBJ)

Running

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

The goal for building a library for the kids is for them to have a place where they can learn about several subjects, do homework and develop their English skills. We will try to encourage them to find their passion so they will be motivated to follow up on their dreams. The music studio will be in the same building and used for the kids to make music for fun or learn how to play instruments. The kids have already learned to play music using items found on the landfill such as cans, bottles and gallons. Finally, the rooftop garden will be created on top of an adjacent structure. We want to teach the kids and people around the area about dedication and responsibilities by letting them take care of their own vegetables in this garden. We will use the vegetables to cook for the kids and for our neighbours.

Budget: 5,000,000,000 IDR

Beneficiaries: 100 planned

Running

Provide sanitary facilities for the waste pickers families

We want to install a new toilet in the village accessible by the waste picker

The goal is to give access to toilets for the waste picker's family and people living around the area.

Budget: 128,000,000 IDR

Beneficiaries: 60 planned

Planned projects (1)

Planned

Trip to Swimming Pool

Allowing the childen to experience the swimming pool

Share some happiness during Covid times with the children

Budget: 63,700,000 IDR

Beneficiaries: 130 planned

Completed projects (8)

Completed

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.

The goals of the project is to pay for 125m2 of the purchased total 725 m2 of land for the new BGBJ, so we can start building our Pendopo House 12 x 6 m as our open space area for the activity at the landfill then we can move from our temporary place to our actual site and also to bring more volunteer to help people at BGBJ with their interesting and outstanding skills in the future.

Budget: 6,340,000,000 IDR · documented spend: 11,633 CHF

Beneficiaries: 1,000 reached · 200 planned

Completed

BGBJ Rescue

Renting a warehouse for BGBJ

- To rescue the BGBJ's belongings into a big warehouse until we can afford to buy a new land and re-build BGBJ again. - Giving opportunity for some local people to work full time helping BGBJ with moving until the eviction time end of November 2022. - Renting the warehouse for 2 years ( April 2022 - April 2024) - To have a temporary little corner as an office next to the warehouse for our BGBJ team.

Budget: 1,979,000,000 IDR · documented spend: 7,036 CHF

Beneficiaries: 200 reached · 200 planned

Completed

Community Empowerment Centre (CEC)

Construction of new 2 floor centre for professional skill training, cooking and upcycled products

- teaching and educating valuable skills for own use. - establishing new opportunities to work in a safe and secure environment with a better income. - improving the infrastructure of Bantar Gebang. - creating upcycled products for retailers around Bantar Gebang and Jakarta.

Budget: 5,950,000,000 IDR · documented spend: 2,005 CHF

Beneficiaries: 150 planned

Completed

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 kids and their families some nutritious meals during pandemic.
- Give the families food supplies to feed their family members.

Budget: 685,746,000 IDR · documented spend: 2,678 CHF

Beneficiaries: 162 reached · 162 planned

Completed

Every sunday a nutritious meal

We want to consistently be able to cook a nutritious meal for the kids every sunday.

- Give the kids a nutritious meal at least once a week.
- Create work for the mothers who come to BGBJ to help cook and clean

Budget: 1,272,000,000 IDR

Beneficiaries: 130 planned

Completed

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.

- To finish the rooms with doors and windows, so it will be ready to be operated end of January.
- 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.

Budget: 308,000,000 IDR · documented spend: 3,745 CHF

Completed

Kids at the Zoo

Taking the kids to the zoo to let them have a nice and happy experience.

The goal is to make the kids happy and give them an experience they are not able to get often. We also want to give them a chance to learn about animals and wildlife.

Budget: 68,600,000 IDR · documented spend: 650 CHF

Beneficiaries: 58 reached · 58 planned

Completed

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 goal for the private room is to get more guests to come to our place. Some guests don't want to share a room with other people and we want to also target those people so everyone feels comfortable here.
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.

Budget: 625,902,200 IDR · documented spend: 2,816 CHF