Bosco Eco Enzyme initiative helps purify water and air in local communities

(MissionNewswire) Bosco Eco Enzyme, an initiative of Salesians in Jakarta, Indonesia, has been calling on community members to ferment organic kitchen waste to improve air and water quality. Liquid from the fermentation of organic waste mixed with molasses or various sugars can also be used as a natural household cleanser or for wound treatment. The process of fermenting the organic waste into the useful enzymes takes about three months.

Salesian missionaries are working to improve the water quality of an 11-hectare lake located on the parish grounds by pouring the liquid, known as Eco Enzyme, into the water. Every week, Salesians with the parish collaborate with several “Eco Enzyme communities” and the local government to pour 66 gallons (250 liters) of Eco Enzyme into the lake. They continue to examine the water for improvements as the project continues.

“This sure is a big project and commitment. But we hope that by pouring our heart and works into this joint project, which serves as a concrete manifestation of ecological conversion, it will bring blessings to the earth and to us—humans who inhabit it,” said Father André Delimarta, a Salesian from Indonesia.

The initial Bosco Eco Enzyme project was launched two years ago when Salesian missionaries encouraged community members to begin fermenting waste. They conducted webinars and lectures about making Eco Enzyme and its benefits. Over the course of the project, the community has used Eco Enzyme to purify water and air in places affected by natural disasters such as the 2021 earthquake in Samarinda.

Everyone has been invited to take part in this project. The community has not only become a driving force in helping to improve local water and air but also a place of welcoming non-Catholics and helping them feel connected to a project for the common good.

According to the World Bank, the COVID-19 pandemic has pushed 2.76 million more Indonesians into poverty, bringing the country’s poverty rate to the highest level since March 2017. Due to job loss and business closure, there are 27.5 million people living below the poverty line as of September 2020. This is up significantly from 24.8 million a year earlier.

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Sources:

ANS Photo (usage permissions and guidelines must be requested from ANS)

ANS – Indonesia – Eco-enzyme to improve the river water

Salesian Missions

World Bank – Indonesia