Going Beyond Earth Hour With Senayan City
Jakarta. Saturday night (19/03) Jakarta's skyline went dim. Many of the capital's apartments, office buildings and shopping malls turned off many of their lights between 8.30 and 9.30 p.m. in observance of Earth Hour.
Earth Hour, a movement to conserve energy and planet earth started by the World Wide Fund (WWF), has spread globally since its launch in 2007. Last year, 172 countries, including Indonesia, took part in this global movement.
For Earth Hour 2016, Senayan City shopping mall in South Jakarta invited fashion designer Didi Budiardjo to design an installation to be featured on the ground floor, near the main entrance.
The installation, titled "Penjor" is a stark contrast to the glitzy interiors of the mall. The three meter high installation is made entirely of raw bamboo tied together with dried reeds. Interwove palm leaves make beautiful raised tails.
"It's a tribute to Mother Earth," said the fashion designer. "For 60 minutes, we pay our respects and learn to protect her for the sake of our future generations."
Penjor is a traditional symbol of thanksgiving in Bali. Its tails symbolize two mythical dragons, "Ananthaboga" and "Basuki," which are believed to be guardians of the earth.
"The installation is made with all natural materials, without using any glue, nails or staples," Didi said. "And all materials used in the installation are recyclable."
Minutes before the mall went dark, a procession of contemporary Balinese dancers moved around the mall from the sixth floor to the ground level, while others distributed "Eco bags" — reusable shopping bags made of plain voile — to shoppers.
"We're supporting the government's program [to reduce plastic waste] by giving out these Eco Bags to our customers," said Elsi Adianti, assistant manager of public relations and customer relations of the mall.
A beautiful black-and-white illustration by young Indonesian artist, Monica Hapsari, adorns the shopping bag.
At 8.30 p.m., the shopping mall turned off most of the lights in its corridors, terraces and giant LED screens.
"In total, we're saving two megawatt of energy during this Earth Hour, this becomes really huge and meaningful, as it's done together with almost 200 nations around the world." Elsi said.
But the real action of saving the planet goes beyond these mere 60 minutes once every year.
"Earth Hour is not just a ceremony," said Elsi. "Each year, it serves to remind us all to conserve energy and care for our planet."
Elsi said the mall has already introduced a string of measures to conserve energy, including promptly turning off lights, escalators and elevators after hours.
Since last year, Senayan City has also operated ten infiltration wells on the outskirts of the mall to allow rainwater seep into the ground, and thus increasing groundwater supply and preventing floods.
"We should all show kindness to this old planet," said Elsi.
The installation by Didi Budiardjo is available at the mall until today (20/03). For more information, visit senayancity.com.
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