Yogyakarta, February 19th 2023─Three students from the Department of Politics and Government (DPP) of FISIPOL UGM who are members of the Ndadax Production Team won 2nd place and Best Digital Activity in the Environmental Video Competition organized by The Conversation Indonesia from October 2022 to February 2023. The students are Mahardhika Ageng Kartiko (DPP 2019), Nicolas Kriswinara A. (DPP 2020), and Faris Rubiansyah (DPP 2019).
Their work entitled “Nyala Api Kotoran Sapi” (Cow Manure Flame) tells a story about the use of alternative and sustainable energy. The documentary video was adapted from the residents of Balong Wetan, in the hamlet of Plosorejo, Cangkringan, Sleman, Yogyakarta, who have implemented biogas technology as an effort to become self-reliant and release dependence on LPG gas. The video trailer for “Nyala Api Kotoran Sapi” can be watched on The Conversation Indonesia’s Youtube channel.
Faris Rubiansyah said that the continuous use of fossil fuels would cause serious environmental damage, including adverse climate change. Thus, renewable energy, such as solar, wind, water, and biomass, can be a more environmentally friendly and sustainable alternative. However, on the other hand, the implementation of renewable energy also needs to take into account the economic impact by ensuring that the less fortunate can still access these energy resources. This was what was then carried out by a group of rural communities in Balong Wetan.
“By documenting this story, we want the wider community to know that there is an alternative energy, namely biogas, which is capable of providing various benefits both environmentally and economically,” said Faris.
The stages of the competition over the last four months left an interesting impression on them. Traveling around Jogja to find a village that has installed biogas reactors behind the houses of several residents, it was the decision of the Ndadax Production team to raise the topic of renewable energy, specifically biogas technology for everyday life. Nicolas Kriswinara, did not expect to win this competition, because none of them had a background in environmental sciences.
“From there, we were very excited to find out and learn, which before we didn’t understand much about this renewable energy, directly where we studied with the residents,” said Nicolas.
Meanwhile, Mahardhika Ageng took part in the competition because he had an interest in environmental issues and coincidentally the topic raised was the same as his thesis. He also hopes that one-day FISIPOL will also provide a wider platform for students to learn about the environment, one of which is by holding a competition with the same issue.
“So actually this is also interesting because this year Fisipol also has several programs on environmental issues such as yesterday’s thesis grant about green society, I also happened to get the grant,” said Mahardhika.