[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] Plastic floods daily life in Batukaropa In the Indonesian village of Batukaropa, along the Balantieng River, plastic waste has become part of everyday life. Each rainy season, floods wash plastic into rice fields and fish ponds — threatening food, health, and nature. The Balantieng watershed now faces an urgent environmental and public health crisis. Severe plastic pollution is endangering women’s health, livelihoods, and local ecosystems. This mismanaged waste contains hormone-disrupting agents such as PFAS and PBDEs. To cope, women farmers often burn the plastic, exposing themselves and

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Makara and Dutch creative agency NorthernLight are launching a new initiative: YUYU.

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_raw_html]PHN0eWxlPgouYWtzaS1hY2hpZXZlbWVudC1pdGVtIHsgcGFkZGluZzogMC43cmVtIDEuMnJlbTsgbWFyZ2luOiAwLjVyZW0gMDsgYmFja2dyb3VuZDogI2Y3ZmFmODsgYm9yZGVyLWxlZnQ6IDRweCBzb2xpZCAjMmU3ZDViOyBib3JkZXItcmFkaXVzOiAwIDZweCA2cHggMDsgY29sb3I6ICMzMzM7IGZvbnQtc2l6ZTogMS4wNXJlbTsgbGluZS1oZWlnaHQ6IDEuNTsgfQouZWRndGYtcG9zdC10ZXh0IGJsb2NrcXVvdGUgeyBtYXJnaW4tdG9wOiAyLjVyZW0gIWltcG9ydGFudDsgbWFyZ2luLWJvdHRvbTogMi41cmVtICFpbXBvcnRhbnQ7IH0KPC9zdHlsZT4=[/vc_raw_html] East Java, Indonesia · 2019–2024 The Brantas River stretches 320 kilometres through East Java, supplying drinking water to tens of millions of people. Despite significant progress in reducing industrial pollution since 2000, household plastic waste, microplastics, and the loss of riverside forests remained pressing challenges — particularly for communities living along the river. AKSI Brantas brought together Indonesian and Dutch organisations to tackle these challenges from multiple angles: community empowerment, water quality research, and clean technology for local enterprises. The partnership AKSI Brantas was a collaboration between Makara,