Meet up

Chilling on Haria Gunung

Hele—one of the most beautiful viewpoints on Saparua. A perfect place to first enjoy the island’s beauty, and then think together about how to preserve that beauty. We want to put an end to pollution and unhealthy living conditions on the small islands of Indonesia. There are still no practical solutions for waste. Less and less ends up in the sea, but the only alternative is burning it. That increases air pollution.

Every single day

the day already starts off badly

Sweeping around your home and cleaning up the mess—that’s how the day starts for most housewives. Every day begins and ends with a thick layer of smog hanging over all the villages. We will not accept this continuing.

Collaboration is expanding

Happy Green Islands has entered into a collaboration with the Bintari Foundation from Semarang (Java). A team of 8 people has come to the Moluccas to work for two years on logistics, technology, and education. Students from the Netherlands are also active again this year, designing a waste management system that fits the context of small islands. Solutions that work in big cities simply don’t fit here.

Local ownership

To create sustainable solutions, the desire to change has to come from within the community. For outsiders, it’s therefore crucial to meet that community. The Dutch students and colleagues from Java are learning the culture better by showing up for important moments—like the baptism of the children of one of the staff members of our local partner organization, Toma Majo Lease.

Meetings with community leaders

As chair of Happy Green Islands, I keep seeking out leaders who are motivated to tackle the waste problem. On the left: Leny Latul, chair of the youth association of the GPM church (AMGPM). She leads the islands of Haruku, Saparua, and Nusalaut. On the right: the Raja (village head) of Paperu. His village, together with Ouw, Mahu, and Kota Saparua, was selected to take part in Bintari’s Plasma B program. Both are full of good ideas and want to move forward. Toward healthier, cleaner, and more sustainable.

Meeting a gardener

Happy Green Islands connects knowledge and cultures. We bridge differences in Western and Eastern ways of thinking and doing. This day includes a meeting with one of the gardeners on Saparua—a man with a lot of hands-on knowledge and real-world experience. Kris (Bintari project leader) and Jessica (environmental education teacher) are pleasantly surprised by the insights of local people. The new HGI board members (left), Zaida and Rintati, are no less impressed. A day full of learning—needed to truly get to know and understand the community. Meeting people is central during their visit to Saparua. Intrinsically motivated people!!!

Eco Garden

The Bintari team uses our home base, Paparisa TML, as their office. In the photo: a working session about building a first mini incinerator—an installation that can burn residual waste like diapers and sanitary pads as responsibly as possible. Those materials simply can’t be reused. We hope to put it into use in the first quarter of next year. Bintari and Happy Green Islands will find the resources for that together. We are incredibly happy with this collaboration.

Meeting Bentol

Bentol Hattu—a great guy who has been doing his best for years to give used plastic waste a new life. A meeting Zaïda and Rintati couldn’t miss. And it was truly wonderful to hear later from Bentol how much he appreciated their commitment and the way they approach meeting people.

Farewell to Zaïda and Rintati

There wasn’t enough time to gather the necessary information and make all the meetings happen. Until next year!!!