Melissa Kowara from Jakarta, Indonesia is a toymaker turned climate activist focused on systemic change and "economy of the people." Melissa is part of the climate activist group Extinction Rebellion, which has a choir song about people power that Melissa translated into Indonesian. The song appears in the episode.
Melissa Kowara from Jakarta, Indonesia is a toymaker turned climate activist focused on systemic change and "economy of the people." Melissa is part of the climate activist group Extinction Rebellion, which has a choir song about people power that Melissa translated into Indonesian.
MELISSA KOWARA
Alright, so here we have Eliza the pig. I like to name them. This is Hans the orangutan, who is completely endangered. And this one is Sausage the dog. And it's also an abacus to help children count.
I’m Melissa Kowara, and I live in Jakarta, Indonesia. And I'm actually a wooden toy maker. But recently, I've been a somewhat full time activist trying to save my own life and others around me.
I didn't even know about the situation of the climate crisis at all until maybe late 2018. And I panicked, I absolutely panicked. I started with a plastic straw, then went on to single use plastic, went on to a solar panel at home, went on to making a wooden toy workshop that upcycles waste wood.
Jeda Iklim means a break for the climate. It’s the climate strike of Indonesia. It started with a global climate strike in 2019. There was a march in the city center.
Jeda Iklim sound from YouTube (0:14)
Went on the streets, did some yell yell chanting and whatnot. It was so exciting. It felt like there was hope. I think I lost my voice that day. That was the first time that I was able to channel my anger.
Growing up in Jakarta, you were very exposed to the polarized world. I mean, it's just completely different extremes, that’s why you have the Crazy Rich Asians. And that’s how I felt my entire life. I felt guilty that I have all these privileges, that I can be in the car and people were begging outside of the street knocking on the window and I really couldn't do anything about it. But when I found out that it was a systemic injustice, I felt like this is it. We are all victims of the system that is designed to have people over-consume, it is designed to exploit.
Indonesia is one of those places that are actually very vulnerable. Here in Jakarta, we had a massive flood, half the city was underwater. This year alone, we've had 6.3 million people having to seek refuge and suffer from disasters. That's a huge number. When there’s disasters happening, the President himself would come out on TV and say that this is because of heavy rainfall. like, would you really blame the people to not understand science if the President himself is not really using proper science on TV? So the first demand is definitely for the government to tell the truth about the climate crisis. We need a legally binding, concrete plan from the government that promises real solutions.
A lot of people talk about uprooting the system. System change, not climate change. And I absolutely agree with this. But I would like to go further. Right now, the entire world economy is measured by GDP, money. In places like Indonesia, there's a huge part of the economy that does not even fall into the GDP. These are your informal economy. So people who sell food in the streets, people who sell fruits in the market, people who give haircuts door to door. It's become apparent that money should matter less now, because when the planet is burning, there will be no use of money. When the last tree is cut, what are you going to buy oxygen from? Economy of the people is what matters. Instead of giving money to the corporations so that the corporations can create jobs that will then give them crumbs, directly fulfill the needs of the people by giving them things that will fulfill their needs permanently, renewably and independently. Things like energy sovereignty, water sovereignty, food sovereignty. Let the communities thrive without the need of money. That should be the goal of governments everywhere.
I strongly believe in the 3.5% theory. Throughout history, every single social movement that demands systemic change has been successful when done by at least 3.5% of the population through non-violent direct action. 100% success rate. So change is coming. The more messed up the world's going to get, the bigger the urge for change. We all want this to change and it will change in our lifetime. I’m so excited about that.
Music: Kedaulatan Rakyat (XR Anthem) by Pram (0:28)
The lyrics are:
(Indonesian)
Kedaulatan Rakyat
kuasanya di kita
bisa dirasakan
selalu makin dekat
Kuasa Rakyat
Hidup Rakyat
(English)
Power to the people
The people got the power
Tell me can you feel it (x2)
Getting stronger by the hour
Power People
People Power