Erry Suharyadi: Green and Clean Surabaya

by Tony, Jeffry, Riki, Karno, and Dwi

In 2005, Jawa Pos Group initially conducted Surabaya Green and Clean Program aimed to promote Jawa Pos newspaper with targeting poor people who living in kampongs. Jawa Pos is the biggest business on new papers. I would rather to mention those who living in kampong as poor people because most of them are living under poverty line of $2 a day. Just like any other metropolitan cities, Surabaya comprised into many malls, sky-scrappers, real estate area, but, on the other side, slump area also spreading everywhere. Most of the kampongs were identified as slump area.

While the city government of Surabaya was in local political transition in 2004, the city was suffering unmanaged waste system. People who living in kampong was the most suffering dweller rather than those who living in modern real estate. To get access into kampongs, Jawa Pos Group was building partnership with PKK (women organization) and Karang Taruna (youth organization) to overcome the environment issue.

Through newspaper coupon on Jawa Pos newspaper, the program provided assistance grant for environment improvement. The first activity of Green and Clean Program was “bersih-bersih berhadiah” (grant for clean) which amount Rp12.5 million (around $1000). Those kampongs submitted their proposal through the newspaper coupon on Jawa Pos newspaper. The activities allowed the communities in Surabaya increased “kerja bakti” which used to be acknowledged as annual activities to clean up the neighborhood area, such as sweeping the drain, cutting back the weeds, burning the debris, repainting the public facilities. In the third month, the activities targeted Wonokromo slump area. Along with support of city government, the program attempted to develop plantation in the slump area in which more than 100.000 volunteers involved “kerja bakti” with planted one million trees.

In the second year, the activities stepped on setting up solid waste management system. It adopted zero waste at grass root level through introducing the concept of circular systems in which as much waste as possible was reused, similar to the way that resources are reused in nature.

According to Erry Suharyadi, the key success of this activity is the huge market share of Jawa Pos which comprised more than 80%. In 2008, participants of SGC was noted more than 1800 communities (rukun tetangga).