Sint Aidit Tokoro, sharing fertilizer from waste with Aglonema,July 2022.
In Java, when people hear of West Papua, they may know Papua is one of the large islands in southeast Asia. A few people may know that Papua has a wealth of abundant natural resources. But rarely does anyone know the history of their people or their land. Divided by water during the glacial period, the Papuan people share a lineage with Aboriginal Australians. Divided by colonization, the US government encouraged Holland in 1962 to turn control of West Papua over to Indonesia rather than allow independence as a Pacific Island country. At the hands of Indonesia and the United States, West Papua has faced the most severe violence and poverty in the world despite its extreme natural wealth. As a Christian nation, West Papua cries out to join the Pacific Island nations as an independent country.
Sint Aidit Tokoro was born in West Papua. He lives with his wife Margaretha Novita Selly in a housing complex in Sentani, just west of the Papuan capital of Jayapura. In their neighborhood, they find it difficult to manage their home waste. A friendly relationship with the earth and caring for their lovely homeland is their dream. It gives them strength to face the ongoing tragedies.
Composting is a challenge when their housing complex has little land and neighboring homes are remodeled to occupy the land with buildings. Disposing of waste becomes a problem for us. So, at Peace Place Pati, I was very glad to learn how to manage organic waste. They use two ways to manage organic waste from the kitchen and the yard.
The first method is to make a half inch (1.25cm) tube that’s three feet long (300 cm) with a door made of woven wire. The top is open, and then closed with a zinc plate when it is full. At certain times the garbage is flushed with water. The method requires a rather large area and because it is open, it sometimes attracts flies or produces a slightly stinging odor.
The second method is to make it closed by using a 5 gallon (25 liter) paint can by placing a screen 1/5 of the way from the bottom of the can and perforating it to separate the solid waste in the top from the fermented liquid below. Add a faucet at the bottom of the can to remove the fermented liquid. Open the can every day so it does not much explode. After the gas is gone, the starter can be mixed with water and used to help the waste fermentation process.
In order for the waste fermentation process to run well, a starter is made that helps the fermentation process. The starter is made from waste of onion skin or fruit skin or tempeh with a certain size and put into a bottle mixed with sugar.
This fermentation process will produce liquid and solid waste that has been decomposed. The fermented liquid is mixed with rice washing water for development into liquid fertilizer. When this mixture no longer produces gas, this liquid can be mixed with water and used as plant fertilizer. Sint said that the second method is more helpful if used in dense housing and there is no place to make compost.
For Sint, this is an actual example of how to care for each person, the group, community, and the natural world. Furthermore, it becomes a small thing but a significant life action. This is just one of the many experiences I had while working as an intern at Peace Place Pati
Petrus and Sint Aidit Tokoro, Practice making compost with decomposter, Peace Place Pati
Decomposter for waste, Peace Place Pati
Aglonema using liquid fertilizer , Peace place