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Harini Bambang’s eyes light up as she recounts some key phases of a life spanning nearly eight decades. There was growing up in the 1930s in Solo, volunteering as a nurse during Indonesia’s war of independence in the late 1940s, and then, her most important battle of all: her fight for a greener country.

“I call myself the ‘garbage warrior,’ ” she says, laughing, “because that’s what I do. I fight the waste management battle by talking about issues of waste and educating people how to help reduce their garbage.”

As a young girl, Harini never dreamed of being an environmental pioneer, advocate or educator. National and international recognition were certainly never an objective either.

All she wanted was for her house and neighborhood in Banjarsari, Jakarta, to be as beautiful and green as Solo.

“My father was a farmer, so I learned a lot about plantations, agriculture and farming,” she says. “He taught me how to cultivate plants and sow. That’s how gardening became my hobby.

“The idea to create a green neighborhood mostly came from my childhood memories of my hometown. I wanted my neighborhood in Jakarta to look just like that.”

Everything else, she says, grew from there.

“I started by gardening and greening my home, and then I encouraged my neighbors to plant flowers at their homes,” she says. “It was only later that I started campaigning for a greener neighborhood.”

Harini, 78, moved to Banjarsari in 1980. At that time it was not the diverse suburban landscape it is today — it was a rubber plantation. With the help of her late husband, Bambang Wahono, who was then the head of the neighborhood unit, she began raising awareness about the importance of greening and waste management.

“In the beginning, campaigning for a greener neighborhood was not easy. There were many challenges,” she says. “The biggest challenge was ‘pro and contra’ people; those who opposed what I did and those who supported what I did. But because I have a strong will, I just kept going. Without it I would have given up long ago.”

Even today, as a nationally recognized waste management trainer and go-to source for the media on green issues, Harini says there are still people out there who might question her abilities. Some people involved in similar environmental work question why she gets so much attention and recognition.

Harini says people don’t exactly object, but they question why journalists seek her out, and why she is selected to travel to speak on waste management issues.

While it may be hard for a warm soul like Harini to understand why people feel this way, the answer is a long list of achievements.
She has conducted more than 60 environmental workshops in various districts throughout Sumatra, Java and even Kalimantan, and is regularly invited to give speeches on regional environmental issues in the Philippines and Thailand.

In 1996, Harini was named Unesco’s instructor for a pilot community waste management project. The reduce, reuse, recycle and replant campaign has since been adopted and implemented in 25 neighborhoods across the country.

Her tireless campaigning has not only earned her a spot on environmental posters and bookmarks, but also the 2001 Kalpataru environmental award, which Harini says was a highlight of her work.

Despite all the ups and down, Harini remains unaffected by the attention, hype and even controversy that surrounds her.

“I find that if I work with my heart and there is love in my heart, I can achieve anything, no matter how hard the task may be,” she says.
For Harini, a major of source of this love comes from the support and care of her family. Her third son, Bambang Irwan, works with her on her campaigns and programs and accompanies her on out-of-town and overseas work trips.

The other source of the love Harini feels comes from the affection of strangers. During a World Health Organization conference in Bangkok last year, Harini was approached by a doctor who embraced her and thanked her for being an inspiration.

“I was very touched by that. It made me cry, especially to see that I could help people from other countries that are not my own,” she says.

“It’s important for people to learn that waste can be reused in different ways. Adopting better waste management practices starts in the home before it can happen in the community or in the world.”