“Plastic is poison to our environment” says Park Ngurah a visiting teacher at SMK Abiensemal. “But making an Ecobrick is a way to not only keep it out of the environmental, but to make a batako (brick).” Tuesday, 62 students of SMK Abiensemal learned the dangers of plastic. They also learned how to ecobrick.
Wearing a sarung and traditional udeng hat, Russell Maier, one of the global pioneers of Ecobricks, commented: “When plastics are littered, burned or dumped, they poison the Earth, Air, and Water. When we save, segregate and pack plastics into bottles, we can make building blocks that can be reused over and over again. Together we can build green spaces that enrich our community and environment”
After the presentation the students set about making Ecobricks for the first time. They used bamboo sticks to pack non-biodegradeable plastic waste into 600ml Aqua bottles. “This is a great idea and solution” said Utmari, an SMK student. Over the next month, each student will complete two ecobricks. When enough ecobricks are collected Pak Ngurah will return to help them make a table. In Pak Ngurahs own school, the students have already made dozens of chairs and tables and are now collecting ecobricks to make a garden park.
Pak Agung, a seminyak laywer, who also lead the presentation commented “We wore Balinese dress today to show that taking care of our environment is part of our culture. Together, Bali can inspire the world.”
Pak Ngurah, Russell Maier, and Pak Agung Sumatra are touring the island to raise ecological consciousness of the youth. According to Russell “Ecobricks is a deep solution to plastic– no funds, no machines, no special skills, no politicians needed. You can start today making bricks to make amazing things.”
The team shared the Vision Ecobrick Guide with the school. This free, opensource guide book is available in English and bahasa indonesian at www.Ecobricks.org The guide is designed especially for teachers or community leaders keen to implement Ecobricking in their classroom. You can view photos of Ecobrick creations at SMPK and SMP3 Abiensemal and other places in the world at Facebook.com/ecobricks.org
Photos by Alex Sattler, www.gaia-images.com
