Disclaimer: With respect to my respondents and their consent for my research, I will not share any names or conversations we have during the interviews. These are just the interesting anecdotes we have outside of the recorded interviews.
The environment is clearly a hot topic these days. Everyone is trying to live sustainably. Or at least from my dire view of humanity, everyone is claiming to be sustainable.
It was another story from Tasikmalaya. I was interviewing a Mason in his home. It is an interesting house beautifully designed out of unused materials from his construction work. Little did I know, his life story was quite a roller coaster ride.
“Have you been to Keong Mas, mba? I painted those!”
Smiling humbly, he shared his life story. He was living in Jakarta back in the 1990s, before the recession. At that time, he worked as a construction worker with many projects like the government’s residential blocks and even the iconic Keong Mas — a 3D cinema standing within Taman Mini Indonesia Indah.
After the recession, he moved out of Jakarta to some places around West Java. Things got bleak for him for a few years, and then he met his wife, and they have been living for years in Tasikmalaya city until now.
He had been working as a mason now in Tasikmalaya city, going from one small construction work to the next. Living day by day. He joined training on constructing standardised septic tanks here in the city and was super excited about how this needed to be done. He made remarks on how rivers are heavily polluted here and was concerned about the groundwater as he learned important lessons from the training. He continues how loads of septic tanks in the city (some of which he also contributed to constructing back then) are not using the safe standard in SNI (Indonesian Standard).
After going to those training, he always tries to convince his customers who want him to build their containment systems that they need a safe and standardised one. He admitted his struggles, though, that he does not have the skills to convince his customers most of the time that what they want is a cheap one that does not require emptying — definitely not how septic tanks work. But that’s a story for another day.
I can’t help but make remarks on how interesting his house is.
“I made it out of unused materials from my construction work here! Look how I turned this into floors and walls?”
I can’t help but feel in awe of his commitment and creativity and how a person can leave his legacies in places you wouldn’t even guess. Every tile and corner of his house tells a story — not just of resourcefulness but also a deep-seated respect for the environment and commitment to sustainable living. “Ya sayang lah mba kalau dibuang, mending saya pakai” — he said in Indonesian, translated roughly into “Well, the materials are wasted! I might as well use it!”. I keep feeling ashamed of my water bottles and tote bags left sitting nicely on my shelves back home. Or even my degree certificates saying I learned something about the environment while I was in awe looking at his legacies. It just reminded me of how solutions can actually be cheap — you need to think creatively and not give in to the capitalistic society that thirsts you for buying new cool that looks fancy, post it on social media and be like, “Yo, I’m doing my part!’”.
As he shared his stories from the past — from painting the iconic Keong Mas theatre to his struggles post-recession, it was evident that his journey was not just about constructing buildings but also about his path in building a legacy of consciousness. It was not enough for him to merely do his hard labour and get paid in exchange. He felt compelled to create in ways that were sustainable, not for numbers or photos in ESG reports, nor for bragging lifestyles to the world. But just his love letters to the environment.
His commitment extended beyond the beautiful architecture of his house. As he delved deeper into the nuances of his work, he pursued a path to introduce sustainable sanitation practices to his community. In a world filled with token gestures, his life serves as a reflection for me of the simple, sincere actions that indeed speak louder than words — be it certificates of sustainability, ESG reports, stars, or whatever. This man does not need any incentive to retake construction waste at the end of the day and put together pieces to build his house.
While many may dismiss the contributions of a single mason in a vast city, his story gives me a kind reminder that legacies are not always built in high-rising skyscrapers. Sometimes, they are forged in the silent corridors of uniquely designed homes and the minds of humble, passionate workers.
I smiled as I left his home, pondering the tales he would one day proudly share with his grandkids. While countless people pass by Keong Mas, I bet none might ever know or even think about the creative hands and great minds behind those grand structures. And I’m one of those lucky people who had the chance to meet with this remarkably creative mind, sharing some stories one afternoon in his uniquely crafted home.
