From food donations to education programs, the list of goodwill initiatives on the island has been heartwarming to say the least; in reality many would have suffered gravely without such community efforts.
One creative initiative changed the dynamic. Made Janur Yasa is a restaurateur, a partner in the unique vegan restaurant Moksa in Ubud. In May 2020, as Bali was in the depths of the pandemic lull, Janur began a program called Plastic for Rice, a barter system that encouraged locals to trade in collected plastic for rice. In an interview with NOW! Bali when the program started, he says that he remembered how villagers used to barter in the early days, rice for sea salt, farm to sea. He said that this gave people spirit, making sure that people don’t get used to receiving without working.
Through this plastic for rice system, Janur provided a double solution: cleaning littered plastic in the environment; as well as providing much-needed sustenance to those in need, especially in rural areas.
The program started in Banjar Jangkahan and Banjar Penulisan, Batuaji Village, Tabanan, the regency where Janur comes from. It was set up as prototype, a system to be replicated in other villages… and it was.
Three months later, Plastic for Rice became Plastic Exchange. In that time, as reported in August 2020, the movement had spread to 44 banjars and 1,345 households.
But beyond that it had evolved beyond a simple ‘system’, and became a movement. It was adopted by other charitable organisations as a solution to provide food fairly in rural communities; it became a vehicle for environmental education, to teach the effects of plastic but also the value of waste. It has allowed people to feel empowered, useful, independent. It has seen new leaders being born.
Today, Plastic Exchange is found in over 200 villages across Bali, has collected 50.000+ kg of plastic and distributed 55.000+ kg of rice."
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