Prenjak, a local NGO in Tapak Village, connected us with various community members in Tapak Village to discuss their lives and how they relate to the natural environment. We chiefly wanted to understand if they had observed environmental change during their lifetime, if they had participated in conservation efforts, how they interact and use their environment and how they felt about growing tourism in their village. For over an hour that day, we had a conversation with these community members facilitated by the generous help of UNIKA students and professors. 

By beginning by talking about family and their childhood we were able to glean some understanding of the environmental history of the area. One fisherman reported that when he was growing up they shrimp yields were very high and along with caring for his specific fish pond, it was profitable to harvest shrimp. Today, he reported it was not worth the effort. Additionally, some community members spoke of the community action taken to prevent factory waste from entering their fishponds. The issue was that, before they took action, upland rainfall would collect waste from the factory and turn the water black. If this water flooded into the fishponds, many fish would die. They wrote a letter asking for greater regulation of the factory waste but it is an ongoing and complex issue. Other things we learned about were how they plant mangrove seedlings and about cuisine using the fruit of Avicennia marina.

It was a pleasure to have these in depth conversations with community members. It emphasized the human aspect of environmentalism and the importance of understanding the role of local communities in achieving environmental goals.