Sisters and founders of plastic bags Bye Bye, a campaign to ban plastic bags in Bali, share how they implement their movement in Bali and beyond.
You were both born and raised in Bali; At what age did you start your plan to ban plastic bags on the island
Melati:. I was 12 and Isabel was ten
What made you decide to start this bold initiative to these young ages
Isabel: the idea actually started one day with a lesson in causes the green School, where we learned about the positive changes created by leaders and individuals like Mahatma Gandhi and Princess Diana. We learned how the little things a person can turn into a huge global social and economic movements.
The sisters began the initiative to help stop the use of plastic bags
Melati: We decided that we did not want to wait until we got diplomas and went to university. We thought is now time to do something, such as children. We studied all the issues of Bali faces and we chose the garbage because it's affected our daily lives. As we play in the rice fields or walk on the beach, we saw plastic bags clogging gutters and accumulates in rivers, and on the side of the road. We saw this as a realistic problem, we could attack.
?How did you start
Isabel: We realized through our research that this is not just a problem in Bali, but in the world whole. We have seen how other places have addressed this issue and we knew we could do this too
Melati: With plastic bags change comes by the power of consumers. If we can get everyone to say no, they will not be distributed.
Isabel: We were invited by our teacher Kayti Denham to launch our initiative off the (GIN) conference here in Bali Global Issues Network. After that, we were invited into schools to make presentations and followed this up by attending festivals and markets to promote our business.
Tell me about your village pilot program here in Bali.
Melati: We realized very early that education is an integral part of creating the change we want to achieve. We went to the local village Pererenan and created a program that can be implemented in other villages and communities. The amount of plastic was reduced by 60 percent already
Isabel: Pererenan is a small village in southwest Bali with 800 families. We'll all weekend to sensitize local Balinese who are ready for change and welcome. They are traditionally all about connecting with nature and the recognition of its role in their lives. Agriculture and ceremonies revolve around the phases of nature. However, they have never been taught that the plastic was bad, it was toxic and negatively affected their health, especially when it was burned. When they learned the truth about plastic, they started naturally change their behavior.
What are other ways that you bring awareness of your initiative for young people?
Isabel: We focus on youth and created a book of 25 pages by young people for young people to understand the importance of acting now and how they can play an important role to change their environment and make a better future. It is in Bahasa Indonesia and we are working with the government to make it part of the curriculum in schools.
Melati: Globally, we reached 10,000 students in seven countries in three languages through our conferences, seminars and conferences! But we were unable to get an audience with the governor of Bali, we wanted very much to get on with our plastic bags no more initiative.
Is what led to your petition
Melati : Yes, we thought that if we have a million signatures, we could get the governor to pass legislation. We went to the petition site and decided to go with Avaaz. It was the best decision because we got 6,000 signatures an hour and Avaaz has been a great supporter of ours.
Isabel :. We also went to the airport where we got 1,000 signatures in one thirty
How did you finally reach the governor
Isabel: After a year and a half of effort to get the governor and being told it was unavailable, we were invited to India for our first international conference to talk INK. Our parents took us to the house of Mahatma Gandhi, now a museum. It is one of the people we've been inspired by. As our parents were waiting outside, we went into the house to learn about its history and how it has made things.
Melati: We learned how he has always done things in a non-violent manner by hunger strikes and peaceful marches. So we went back to our parents and said, "Mom, Dad! We're going on a hunger strike! "It did not go over well with our friends, our family, or our teachers! So, we met with a nutritionist and came with a good alternative. We went on a hunger strike from sunrise to sunset. In two days there was a lot of attention and media coverage and was quite successful because we received a call from the governor's office with the message that although he was off the island that he would like meet us
Isabel and Melati speaking at TED Talk
Isabel: the third day, we went to the office of governor and the governor met in a private room. He said he was very proud of his Indonesian girls and we had his full support to achieve the goal to Bali free plastic bags by the year 2018.
Melati : it was a big step for us because we are now in direct contact with the Ministry of the environment government. We exchange weekly updates and maintain a great relationship with the government, sharing the same vision of a Bali without plastic bag. Our perseverance paid off and now we are taken seriously. After that, we went to London for a TED conference where our discourse on youth empowerment was more than a million times.
Melati and Isabel, you are now 15 and 13, where you see yourself in the future personally
Melati : Continue on way of empowering youth by promoting through a strong network worldwide.
Isabel : I like the scene and all the arts! I see do theater for noble causes.
What is your vision for Bali in the years to come
Melati and Isabel : Seeing Bali reconnect a stronger way to his traditional methods and have a higher awareness regarding environmental issues.
Thank you, Melati and Isabel! For more information, visit www.byebyeplasticbags.org