From an ecological perspective, the water of the Ciliwung River is highly polluted and even being described as one of Jakarta’s ‘giant waste reservoirs’. In addition to industrial wastewater, domestic wastewater is also discharged into the river due to a lack of adequate drainage systems. Many households are not equipped with private sanitary facilities. While public facilities do exist, the charges are prohibitive for a large part of the population, resulting in them using bamboo rafts (“getek”) floating on the river for bathing, washing and defecation. This leads to faecal contamination of the river, soil and groundwater, posing a health risk: A 2009 study by the Jakarta Environmental Agency found that the water of the Ciliwung River contained about 12200 counts/ 100 ml of E. coli; the recommended standard by the Ministry of Health is 50 counts/ 100 ml. High levels of ammonia, phosphate and detergents were also found. The heavy pollution of the river also endangers the wildlife in and along the river and its surroundings.

Those environmental challenges are further intensified by social aspects. In many areas, awareness of proper domestic waste management remains low, and knowledge about the condition of the river and its potential health risks is not widely spread. Moreover, members of the LabTek Apung team point out that discussing dirt and waste is often perceived as a highly sensitive and difficult topic.

The LabTek Apung project addresses environmental and social issues alike through an educational approach: The transdisciplinary project originated from a citizen science workshop held in 2017 in one of the slum settlements on the banks of the Ciliwung River. The founders of the initiative drew from the idea of people using rafts as sanitary facilities in their daily lives and found a way to incorporate this element and turn it into a floating laboratory with an educational purpose. Hence the name of the project, which comes from the abbreviation of “laboratory technique” and the word “Apung”, which means “floating” in Indonesian. The raft, equipped with instruments and materials for basic chemical, biological and physical tests (e.g. to test the water quality), serves as a link between research and the lay public. Rather than simply providing information about the state of the river, LabTek Apung enables people to conduct their own research, analyse their findings and draw their own conclusions. Children are invited to engage with research in a playful way, sometimes through workshops organized in collaboration with local schools. 

Not only children benefit from the project, as the team also actively reaches out to households in the project area, Kampung Tanah Rendah, to analyse their wells and water sources together with the residents. In addition, LabTek Apung organizes events and workshops to raise awareness for the wildlife in and surrounding the river, following a more-than-human approach.

The LabTek Apung project provides several social and environmental benefits: Regarding the social issues mentioned above, the project actively tackles the lack of awareness about the state of the river by providing sustainable learning practices, as information is not only taught but also gained through hands-on experience. The playful approach to science allows lay people to gain an insight into research practices that are usually only open to experts. The project also encourages people to develop a critical view of their own surroundings and environment. Raising curiosity and awareness of environmental and sustainability issues potentially creates new “lay experts” in the field, who in turn share their knowledge with the community, opening up the possibility of future creative approaches and solutions. Furthermore, educating residents about the dangers of polluted (fresh) water and enabling them to test it themselves minimizes health risks such as infections.

As the project is still ongoing, no research has yet been conducted to assess the impact on the residents’ waste disposal and sanitation habits. However, the presence of the Floating LabTek can make local residents and children aware of the aforementioned dangers.