Indonesia: Cleaning up the Brantas river
"I never thought I would farm fish in this river. It was too polluted. Now I make a living from it."
Improving water quality
Suyatno lives in the Indonesian village of Jambangan on the River Brantas in Surabaya, East Java. For many years he has earned a small living working at the local pet shop. Now, following the clean up of a tributary to this highly polluted river, he has become a full-time fish farmer, earning up to a million rupiahs (US$1 000) a year.
As it passes through Surabaya, the River Brantas becomes polluted from local industries, but a far bigger problem is pollution from domestic waste, as the houses lining the riverbank use the river as a rubbish dump and open sewer.
Unilever Indonesia has a factory in Surabaya producing soap, toothpaste and shampoo, all of which require clean water to be used. It is in the company's commercial interest to improve water quality in Indonesia as well as part of its social and environmental responsibility as a local corporate citizen.
"To have a sustainable impact", explains Unilever Indonesia Project Manager Silvi Tirawaty, "a holistic solution was required involving everybody who lived along the river."
Working with the local community
Unilever provided management expertise, voluntary help and equipment to encourage the villagers to develop and sustain a self-help approach. To discourage the use of the river as a public toilet and rubbish dump, communal lavatories have been built or renovated and Unilever distributed rubbish carts and bins.
River canals running through the village have been restored to enable the introduction of fish farming on a commercial scale with a donation from Unilever of fish nets, fish food and thousands of freshly spawned silver catfish.
Suyatno has no doubt the approach Unilever and its partners have taken is the right one. "People in the village are changing their minds about the river. They are taking more care not to throw rubbish away. All our lives have improved. And", he says, with only the slightest hint of self-interest, "people are eating a lot more fresh fish!"
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