Donations poured in to help defray the cost, but we figured that soon donation alone is not enough if the orphanage does not take steps to save energy to reduce its electricity bill. Fortunately the management is open to the idea of energy education so that they can take actions to save energy.
The orphanage, located in South Jakarta, Indonesia, was established 28 years ago. In a multi-level coed dorm it housed 80 junior and senior high school students and 10 staff. Not all of the students are orphans; however, they come from poor families unable to provide food and education for the children. The orphanage feeds the students and gives them a place to stay while they attend local schools nearby.
The Climate Reality Project Indonesia volunteered to teach the students and staff of this modest Islamic orphanage how to save energy. A climate leader, Dicky Edwin Hindarto, generously donated his time to meet the challenge, preceded by a simple energy survey around the orphanage’s rooms, hallways, and worship place to see the points of energy utilization and the potentials for energy saving. He then interviewed the staff and checked out the electricity bills of the last few months.
Energy Story Telling
In an evening event attended by all students and staff, Dicky spent some time telling stories on what energy is, why we need to save energy, and the ways to do it.
Energy is the power that enables us to perform daily activities. Examples are energy from food and energy from electricity. Energy is also the capacity to do work in the form of heat, light, mechanical, chemical and electromagnetic.
We need to save energy because its sources such as oil, gas and coal are limited and huge efforts and big cost are needed to move energy to where we need it. Energy becomes increasingly expensive because supplies are vastly depleted; hence, saving energy means saving money. In addition, saving energy also means preserving the environment and addressing climate change. More importantly there are still millions of houses in Indonesia that do not have access to energy.
The Climate Leader
Dicky Edwin Hindarto is a food traveller who has visited more than 50 countries to taste a variety of foods and enjoy new things that interest him. Amidst his busy schedule, Dicky enriches his knowledge in energy management, renewable energy, international negotiations, climate change and carbon trading.
Energy saving does not mean that we have to turn off all electrical appliances as saving is the use of electricity, fuel, gas, and other energy type to suit our needs.
Dicky’s preliminary energy survey on the orphanege indicated that the largest energy use comes from water pump to generate water for daily use, especially for showering and performing ablution prior to daily prayers. The location of a couple of water tanks also made more pumping is required to get the water to where it is needed.
Water and Energy Saving
To save water it is important to use water tanks to hold water and place them in strategic places so that water pump does not run continuously. It is crucial to avoid overdoing the use of water for showering, ablution, and watering the yard. Scheduling water use is part of water saving, as collecting rainwater and use them to water or clean the yard
Upon checking the orphanage’s electricity bills Dicky found out part of the problems. Currently categories of electricity bills in Indonesia consist of utilization for domestic, industrial, offices, and highway lighting. Apparently, the orphanage subscribes to a category beyond its usage and needs making the cost higher than necessary.
Dicky’s friendly communications with the students and staff made them enthusiastic to learn about energy saving, shown by questions from the audience.
It is not difficult to start saving energy, Dicky said. Use energy only when needed, do it now and do not delay, encourage friends and family to participate and remind each other to save energy.
The Climate Reality Project Indonesia will continue the activities at the orphanage by keeping in touch and evaluate its energy bills from time to time.
Such energy saving education can be up scaled in bigger orphanages and other settings involving students such as in schools, mosques, or churches.
We encourage passionate climate leaders such as Dicky Edwin Hindarto to contact us to participate in future activities. As a climate leader, Dicky Edwin Hindarto perfectly understands how to interact with school children that is completely different than how he communicates in his day job as Head of Indonesia Joint Crediting Mechanism Secretariat, an Indonesia-Japan cooperation in the field of green investment and bilateral carbon trading.
Text: The Climate Reality Project Indonesia
Images: Dicky Edwin Hindarto & The Climate Reality Project Indonesia