Every country in the world has aspects of it which are good and bad. Despite being a developing country, I have noticed many things us “Developed Country” citizens could learn from the relatively poor Indonesia:
1. Reusing Building Materials
Very few things in Indonesia that are not plastic or food get thrown out. While building our house here, I saw some extremes in terms of reusing materials, such as removing and straightening old nails to use again. While a small piece of plywood would likely be considered scrap in Canada, here my brother in law finds a use for it. The parts of our house that were too eaten by termites to reuse were given to poorer people to use as fuel for their fires.
2. PTPT (Angkot, or City Transit)
I have noticed a dramatic rise in the number of personal vehicles on the roads here in Indonesia, but on the major arteries the PTPT is still king. It is a 14 passenger minibus, that plys a certain route. It replaces the public bus system that most western countries have. While sometimes dangerous, it does have a major advantage. You never wait more than a couple minutes to catch a ride to anywhere in the city. Such modularized public transit might well be the best hope for urban mass transit in the future.
3. Urban Bounty
Walking through any neighbourhood in Makassar, you are likely to see numerous fruits and veggies growing. Looking out my front window, I can see mangoes, papaya, belimbing, chilis, and coconuts. Most plants that people take care of here provide sustenance, and are not only for looks. I have noticed an increase in this in Vancouver as well, and hopefully the world sees an upward trend in the urban gardening movement.
4. Neighbourhood Spirit
After only a couple months of living here, I already know half of my neighbour’s names, their jobs, and where they live. They will come over to my house to relax with me if I am outside, and generally have time to chat. In Canada this simply does not happen, and after three years I had only really come to know one of my neighbours well. Furthermore, kids here can play in the streets and are free to roam, largely because every adult in the neighbourhood is looking out for their wellbeing. Compare this to North American cities, where kids have GPS locator beacons implanted into their skulls so their parents know where they are at all times.
5. Home Economics
So many people have their own businesses here in Indonesia. It is more an essential skill of survival than entrepeneurship, but it does make a lot of sense. My cousin Mega is a good cook, and to make a little extra money she sells yellow rice (Nasi Kuning) each morning. She sells it as a price that makes it slightly profitable for her, while also making it cheaper for her neighbours to buy the premade food than make it themselves. So many small operations like this definitely add to the whole community thing… we know our local vendors and support their businesses largely because of convenience. The North American model, however, makes it really difficult for small operations to fly, and so people endure low quality mass produced food and products because their really is no other option.
Although Indonesia certainly has its difficulties (corruption, fundamentalism, pyramid schemes, etc.) there are also aspects that make me wonder if our global culture is being a little too closed minded when looking for solutions for the 21st century. As far as I can see, most of our adaptations are modeled based on what the West has done successfully. Looking farther afield and integrating good practices from civilizations around the world may make the most sense!
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