More than half of Bali’s economic revenue comes from tourism, which employs hundreds of thousands of Balinese people in the industry.
Many people went back to their home villages. With more people returning to the villages, more garbage piled up. With so many people out of work, they were also going hungry.
“I told myself, I have to do something about this,” said Med Janur Yasa, owner of a vegetarian restaurant in Ubud city.
Yassa said he wanted to find a way to help people in his community during the pandemic, while also addressing the ongoing problem of plastic pollution.
“I thought, there’s an opportunity inside the challenge,” he said.
So, he started a program where local villagers could exchange plastic for rice – a barter system that would benefit the environment and empower the local people. Residents can turn to collected plastic waste instead of the main food staple.
“I thought to myself, if it works in my village, it will work in other places too,” Yasa said. “I felt like this thing was getting bigger than I could have imagined.”
The event brings together groups of local neighborhoods called Banjars who collect plastics from their homes, roads, rivers, beaches and surrounding areas.
Villages hold community exchange events once a month in which residents can bring plastics for the rice trade. Yasa says the organization has helped feed thousands of families so far and has collected about 500 tons of plastic for recycling.
Yasa said, ‘The teenagers come with a smile. There are elderly people. Small children come with their mother. That’s what motivates me, to see all of them excited about it.” “They were feeling powerless, and that gives them hope.”
CNN: How did the pandemic affect people’s livelihoods in Bali?
Made Janur Yasa: When the pandemic hit, the economy in Bali came to a standstill. A lot of businesses closed – restaurants, hotels, travel companies. We are very dependent on tourism. So, I see people losing their jobs. There were massive layoffs.
When all these businesses closed, and many of these workers had nothing to do, many of them went back to their villages. They went back to the ground. But people did not have income. Therefore, in fact people need food first of all. I watched the people of my village worry about how they would put the food on the table. People were really, really struggling, especially six months into the pandemic. And it worries me.
CNN: What are some special aspects of Balinese culture that guide your efforts?
Live: People from all over the world come to live here because they are attracted to the overall that we live life here in Bali. I was born and raised in a small village here. The good thing about Bali is that the human-to-human connection is actually very strong. If I have more money than I need, I can help my neighbors.
We have a lot of conventional wisdom that guides our lives here. One is called the Trihit Karana, which is the three ways to attain happiness: Garima; human-to-human relationships, which are considered prosperity; and human connection to the environment.
CNN: How does your program work?
Live: Villagers will get rice according to the type of plastic they bring and the amount they bring. Each category has a different value. We work with a company that collects this plastic and sends it to Java for proper recycling, as we do not yet have a recycling plant in Bali. We buy rice from farmers. So, we are actually creating this circular economy, supporting the farmers and then we also clean the environment and feed the people of that community.
People enjoy it. And now, a year after that, lifting plastic is sexy. It’s a good thing to do. People just get into it. Now we are working with 200 villages. My goal is to really spread this movement.
CNN: How has some of this cultural knowledge helped make Plastic Exchange a success?
Live: People in Bali live in nature. Traditionally, we believe that nature has a soul. People care about the environment. But plastic pollution in Bali is due to a lack of education and practice.
We are trying to change the behaviour. The only way to do this is through education. This is how you change people’s habits. My method is showing them an example through action. We educate people on how to take apart plastics. And we also educate people about the dangers of plastic. If it goes into the environment, it pollutes the water, sea and it is not good for the environment.
The people here get along really well. So once people are educated on how to properly dispose of plastic, they want to help and make a difference.
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