Tentang Kami

Komunitas Peduli Ciliwung Bogor berdiri sejak Maret 2009. Komunitas ini hanya menginginkan meningkatkan rasa kepedulian terhadap keberlangsungan sungai Ciliwung di Kota Bogor. Komunitas ini terbentuk awalnya dari upaya kepedulian Hapsoro dan Hari Yanto (Hari Kikuk) yang hobi memancing dengan menceritakan pengalamannya memancing di sungai Ciliwung. "Kalau mancing di sungai sekarang ini sudah terlalu banyak sampah. Yang ada kita malah dapat plastic, bukannya ikan," ungkap Hapsoro sambil bercanda. Dari pembicaraan ngalor ngidul ini akhirnya kami sepakat untuk menemukan spot-spot terbaik untuk mancing di sungai Ciliwung di Kota Bogor sepanjang daerah Katulampa hingga Cilebut. Dari situ baru disadari begitu memprihatinkanya kondisi sungai Ciliwung kala itu.

Dari fakta di lapangan hasil penelusuran sungai ciliwung di Kota Bogor, terbukti bahwa masyarakat yang tinggal di bantaran sungai Ciliwung, menjadikan sungai ini sebagai tempat buang sampah selain memanfaatkannya untuk keperluan sehari-hari lainnya. Jelas sekali hal ini merupakan tindakan yang salah dan sangat tidak dibenarkan karena fungsi, kondisi, serta kegunaan sungai tersebut akan menurun.

Tidak hanya itu. Kondisi sungai Ciliwung kian diperburuk dengan minimnya pengetahuan masyarakat mengenai pentingnya menjaga kesehatan sungai. Semua berakar pada kebiasaan buruk yang telah mengakar sejak lama dalam fikiran masyarakat yang tinggal di sekitar bantaran sungai Ciliwung hingga mereka tak lagi peduli.

Berawal dari sana, diskusi terus berlanjut dengan pertanyaan apa yang bisa kita lakukan untuk menyelamatkan sungai Ciliwung yang penuh sejarah dengan cara-cara yang sederhana, murah dan tidak rumit. Dari situ lahirlah sebuah konsep yang simpel, yaitu aksi mulung sampah di sungai Ciliwung yang bersifat voluntary, bukan berdasarkan proyek.

Sejak saat itulah salah satu agenda kegiatan KPC Bogor adalah mulung sampah setiap hari Sabtu, mulai dari pukul 8 pagi sampai dengan 11 siang. Kami anggap saja olahraga di hari libur. Bisa berkeringat, bermanfaat, dan juga bisa tambah teman baru. Kegiatan yang dilakukan komunitas ini sangat sederhana. Hanya mengambil sampah-sampah yang mengotori sungai Ciliwung, untuk dikumpulkan dan dimasukan ke dalam karung-karung. Lalu selanjutnya dibuang ke tempat pembuangan sampah sebenarnya. Jumlah orang yang datang setiap sabtunya berbeda-beda. Pernah ada lebih dari 100 orang yang bergabung. Tapi pernah juga hanya 2 orang. Bagi kami tidak masalah. Yang penting KPC Bogor harus terus mengingkatkan warganya untuk peduli sungai ciliwung di Kota Bogor.

Tak hanya mulung sampah, Komunitas Peduli Sungai Ciliwung ini juga melakukan sejumlah kegiatan positif lainnya seperti; memberikan pendidikan lingkungan hidup untuk anak-anak SD, melakukan penelitian tentang kualitas air, penanaman pohon di sekitar sungai Ciliwung, pengkajian tentang biota air sungai dan fisik sungai, pemutaran film tentang sampah di sungai Ciliwung, serta penyelenggaraan lomba mulung sampah yang sekarang sudah menjadi agenda resmi tahunan di Kota Bogor.

Berkat kiprah komunitas ini, sekarang ini Pemerintah Kota Bogor kian mendukung penuh kegiatan yang dilakukan Komunitas Peduli Sungai Ciliwung ini dengan menganggarkan upaya pembersihan sampah di sungai Ciliwung melalui alokasi APBD-nya. Tentunya semua dilakukan berdasarkan satu tujuan yaitu menyelamatkan sungai Ciliwung dari ancaman kerusakan.

Komunitas ini menginginkan kondisi Ciliwung seperti dahulu kala. Sungai yang bersih dan sangat dimuliakan oleh masyarakat karena airnya yang terkenal segar dan bisa dijadikan sebagai sumber kehidupan masyarakat.

Seharusnya, sungai merupakan sumber air bersih bagi kehidupan manusia. Dari sejak manusia itu ada, mereka sudah bergantung dengan sungai. Kita bisa melihat di beberapa kampung di Indonesia, letaknya dekat sungai, karena memang sungai itu memiliki peranan penting dalam kehidupan manusia. Entah itu sebagai sumber air bersih, untuk minum, mandi, mencari makan, sebagai sarana transportasi, dan yang terpenting adalah sungai dapat menjaga keseimbangan alam.

Informasi lainnya tentang KPC Bogor bisa dilihat di: http://tjiliwoeng.blogspot.com/, atau akun jejaring sosial mereka di Twitter @tjiliwoeng atau Facebook.com/KPCBogor.





ENGLISH Version
Community Care Ciliwung Bogor, known locally as KPC Bogor, was founded in March 2009 in West Java, Indonesia to harness the growing community concern for the sustainability of the Ciliwung River in the city of Bogor. We formed to raise awareness about the damaging impact of garbage and waste in the river, as well as to mobilize the community to take action.

The community around KPC Bogor was initially formed by our friend Hapsoro and Hari yanto (Hari Kikuk) who used to share his fishing experiences in the Ciliwung River. "If we go fishing in the river now, there is so much junk," Hapsoro once said, "All we get is plastic, instead of fish." It was after an increasing number of similar tales from the community about pollution levels that we decided to conduct some field research. We set out to find the best spots for fishing along the Ciliwung River, particularly in the area stretching from Katulampa to Cilebut.

Some KPC members work in Research and Development of Ornamental Fish Aquaculture, Ministry of Marine and Fisheries and in fisheries laboratory in Bogor Agricultural University. So while we conducted the research voluntarily, they were always present to offer their skills and ensure our research methods were sound. In addition to the study of fish, some KPC members who work in mapping forest areas in Indonesia helped us to map the river area using GPS. We mapped the points where garbage was stacked, sewage levels and commensurate changes in the river. We also tested the quality of river water by using a simple method called "biotilik," using organisms as an indication of the state of the river water quality in the Ciliwung River.

The results of the research were shocking. We found out that while the people who live along the Ciliwung River rely on its use for daily necessities including cooking, cleaning and washing, the river is increasingly being used as a place to dispose of trash and inorganic waste materials. The research helped us realize just how poor the Ciliwung River conditions were at the time -- with worrying consequences for the function, condition, and use of the river. Not only did we uncover poor river standards, we also identified that there was a lack of public knowledge about the importance of maintaining a healthy river among the community. Waste disposal practices have become rooted in the bad habits that have been ingrained in the minds of the people who live around the Ciliwung riverbanks over a long period of time. People are so used to the methods they use that they do not realize the severity of the environmental damage which they cause.

So members of KPC Bogor got together to ask, "What can we do to save Ciliwung River in ways that are simple, inexpensive and uncomplicated?" From there, a simple concept was born. We set out to recruit volunteers to become garbage scavengers in the Ciliwung River. Every Saturday, KPC Bogor members and friends met from 8am to 11am, to pick up any inorganic matter that litters the Ciliwung River and put it into the sacks before sending it to landfills.

In many ways, we actually consider this activity as a way to meet new friends. It might be hard work that can cause us to sweat, but we understand that even though waste removal is a very simple activity, it important for the sustainability of our river and our community around it. The number of people who come every Saturday varies: Sometimes there are only two, other times up to 100 people. For us, the number doesn't matter. What's important is that KPC Bogor must continue to remind citizens to take care of the Ciliwung River.

About three months ago, we had some sad and shocking news that our friend and leader Hapsoro had passed away. A few of us were worried about what would happen to our 4-year-old community and how it could continue without his leadership. We gathered at Hapsoro's house before his funeral, and we all committed to doing all we could to ensureKPC Bogor's activities would carry on. We saw how vital this work was for the River, the community's health, and our livelihoods. We needed to honor and commemorate the important service Hapsoro had initiated to form a sense of responsibility and awareness in the community. But how could we mobilize the community like he did?

More information about KPC Bogor can be found at http://tjiliwoeng.blogspot.com or via Twitter @tjiliwoeng and Facebook.com/KPCBogor.