Working together to create better space…

Communal Space in Ngargorejo, Central Java

Our intervention programme is with the community in Dusun Sidorejo, Ngargorejo, Ngemplak, Central Java. Sidorejo is a small village located near Waduk Cengklik. Our programme is centred in RT 04, with the population of 24 families, with the majority of population is in the productive age range. The majority of the village residents are farmers and fishermen. As found in most villages, the settlements consists of houses with plenty of open space between houses. The residents utilise their house yard with various types of vegetables and fruit plants, as well as for cattle fields.

Our intention in working with Sidorejo community is to facilitate them in providing a space that could be utilised as a centre of community activities. We expect that this communal space would become a generator to promote various community activities, including community library that would provide access for various reading materials, space for meeting and social interaction, and other positive activities.

We began the process by thorough observation on the everyday activities of the communities, in order to identify their daily activity pattern and the existing community spaces that have potentials for further development. In this preliminary study, we also made assesment on the availability of resources around the village that could be useful for the development process. Based on our observation, we identified several spot that have been regularly used by the community for their social activities. There is a health centre named Kondang Waras, with plenty of open space around that is often used for children football game and bicycle playing, female informal social gathering and toddlers playing. Other activity spaces were found in house terrace of Ibu Mujiyem, Ibu Mus’ and Ibu Eko’s stalls (warung), fish co-op centre and football playing field. These are all active space within the neighbourhood where the everyday social interaction could be observed, representing important part of community life.

The participatory process of developing ideas for communal space began with  dialog that we conducted with the representative of the community. A meeting was held in Bapak Gunarto’s house with direction from Bapak Guntoro, the Bayan of Dusun 1. The residents who were present in the meeting were give opportunities to express opinion and ideas about the planned communal space. We used various methods to elicit the needs and aspiration of the community: choosing and discussing types of information they need in the community libraries, writing hopes and aspirations about the space, and finally discussion on the possible sites for building the space. Bapak Guntoro played an important role in directing the residents, to ensure that the opinions expressed are not merely represent the personal interest of the individuals, but for future benefits of the whole community. He played an important role in educating the society to be more aware of opportunities and better future. The meeting also resulted in an agreement on the location to build the communal space. A piece of land owned by Pak Guntoro near Kondang Waras, previously used as fish pond, would be dedicated for the space.

We went back to Jakarta to design the communal space based on the results of the dialog with the community. After several refinement, we came back to Ngargorejo to discuss our design proposal with the community, and together we planned how the design could be implemented using available local resources. Our proposal of communal space would provide spaces for community library and spaces for community meeting, allowing for various communal activities to be held by adults, teenagers and children.

Meetings were held to discuss our proposal, deciding on the materials, construction techniques and the division of work among the members of communities. Bamboos were collected from the surroundings area, fishpond construction were transformed into the foundation for the space, and other elements were added to fulfill functionalities of the space.

Local craft tradition of making floor surface from bamboo and gedhek walls complemented the finishing process. Lack of building skills among the communities were overcome by hiring several local construction worker providing guidance for the other residents. Another challenge was the management of time among some residents, who were also in the middle of harvesting period. The leadership of Pak Guntoro as the Bayan was proven to be an important key factor in management of work among the community.

The process has resulted in a communal space that was nearly ready for use by the whole community.There are some finishing works left, to be completed independently by the community. We also donate some books as the starting collection for the community library. Later one the space has been actively used by the community for their gathering space, as a space where they can build their dreams for better future, and as a space that has been built as a result of togetherness. We hope that the space we created together would add some value for their everyday life, both in terms of education and enhancement of social structure.

Communal Space in Dusun Kupo, Cepogo, Central Java

Our work with the community in Dusun Kupo, Cepogo, Central Java, was aimed at developing a space where the community could gather and develop their vision for better future. Dusun Kupo was located at the boundary of Cepogo village which was famous for bronze crafts. However, in contrast with the Cepogo village that has been economically advanced in their craft industry, the activities in Dusun Kupo is primarily dominated by farming activities. The village is located in a mountainous area with cool temperature, plenty of greenery and open spaces. The majority of the residents plant tobacco, while others plant shallots, garlic, tomatoes, chili, cloves and pumpkin. Others also earn their living from keeping cattle, working as construction labours or developing home industries.

We began our works by understanding the everyday life of the community, exploring their needs and aspirations as well as their potentials. We were particularly interested in the patterns of social interaction that happen within the community. We found that the presence of various community groups – elderly group, housewife group and youth group – each with their various routine activities. In addition to these structured activities, we also identified the emergence of informal activities in certain spaces throughout the village, where the residents could be found gathering and developing social bonding.

To understand the community aspiration and needs, we held a series of meetings with the community. During these meetings, we worked together with the community to identify the potential spaces in the villages that could be developed for communal space. As the communal space would also be intended to become an information centre, we also explored the ideas from the community on what types of information they need and what kinds of activities they would develop in the communal space. The output of the dialog becomes our direction in developing the design of the communal space.

The results of the dialog with the community became the basis for developing design for the communal space. We considered the different possibilities for site location suggested by the communities, and finally decided to build the space in front of the RT leader. It is a strategic location where most people pass through on their way to school/work and home, and Pak RT can also manage and supervise the space easily everyday. We also considered the use of some local materials that are easily found in the surrounding area. The use of bamboo for structure and other building elements, with local techniques known by the local people, ensure that the space would carry the local identity. A variety of creeping plants that are commonly grown by the local people also became one of the idea for plant elements around the space.

The construction works were done collectively by the community. Bamboo materials were collected together by the community from a nearby location. For structural purposes, the bamboos were treated following local techniques to enable them to last for longer period of time. Apart from the structure, the bamboos were also utilised for other building elements: galar (seating platform), tabak (woven bamboo for the ceiling), bamboo frame for creeping plants, and the remaining pieces were also used for decorative elements. The local people were quite skillful in the bamboo construction and craftworks and the works could be completed well.

The construction works were then continued by the community, led by the head of RT and the Bayan of the village. The community creatively develop the communal space according to their aspiration. For example, the head of RT began to develop the landscape around the communal space as a garden consisting of rare and special plants. He also managed to collect old and used books from the members of community to share with others, in addition to the reading collection we already provided. After completed, the communal space would became a centre of activities for different groups of the community. The children would use the space for reading, studying and other activities. The youths and adults would use the space for gathering, meeting and discussing the community programmes. It would become a trigger for various positive activities within the community.

Communal Space in Desa Bongkok, Sumedang, West Java

Our next intervention programme was conducted in Desa Bongkok. The village is located in Sumedang, West Java, with the majority of the residents work as farmers and furniture craftsmen in some wooden furniture workshops in the area. The village is made up of a major street with houses located on both sides. There are also some green open spaces in between the house and on the side of the village there are quite a large areas of paddy fields.

Our programming of communal space is based on the understanding of everyday activities in the village, especially the social interaction pattern of the residents. During our thorough survey, we identified that social activities of the residents generally occurred in the afternoon and evening, when the residents have completed their daily responsibilities. They usually socialise around the streets, in the spaces between houses or in certain houses.

We conducted a series of dialog with the community in order to identify their needs and aspiration. The dialog became the media for sharing ideas on how the communal space should be designed, built and developed further. We discussed the potential sites for building the communal space, possibilities of materials and the skills possessed by the local people.

Based on the dialog, the communal space would be developed as a space for local people to gather and conduct various activities. During the dialog we also identified their needs for information, which would be provided by the reading materials in he communal space. We also identified various local materials that are available in the surrounding areas of the village to be used for building the space. The community agreed that the construction of the communal space would primarily use the wooden materials as the majority of the local people were craftsmen skillful in woodwork.

The construction of the communal space was done together by the community. Every member of the community contribute in certain works according to their skills and capabilities, from site clearing, building the main structure, framing, roof work, until the finishing work of creating the seating platform, book shelves and other decorative elements.

The results of this collective work is a communal space that is open for use by anyone in the community, from children, young people, and adults. We also provided some reading materials that could be used by the local people to broaden their knowledge and hopefully become a trigger for them to aspire for better future. The building became a materialisation of collective ideas and collective efforts by the whole community, while also acknowledging local resources and potentials.