Grebeg Air Gajah Wong: An Integrated Community River Management Project in Java

This Chapter presents the case of Grebeg Air Gajah Wong as an example of how public-private collaboration can successfully be implemented as an Integrated Community River Management Project in Central Java through the involvement of a local institution. As part of its corporate social responsibility, the Martha Tilaar Group initiated the project in 2012 in collaboration with the local government and the community to clean the River Gajah Wong in the region. In this project, the four strategic corporate social responsibilities of the Martha Tilaar Group are implemented, which are based on the principles of women’s empowerment of caring for green business, culture and education. The objective of the Grebeg Air Gajah Wong programme is to revitalise the river in the Sleman District and Depok Sub-District of Yogyakarta through the local Grebeg institution of communal activities by the villagers in order to clean the river and make its water usable and accessible again for people in the community. The main considerations are presented where the River Gajah Wong has several functions for the benefit of the people, ranging from irrigation to domestic use. The discussions were interactive throughout the process, from identifying the causes to the possible solutions, pertaining to the major outcome that the management of the cleanliness and maintenance of the river cannot be left only to the government without the full participation of the members of the local community. The project has not only increased the awareness of the local people regarding the importance of maintaining the sanitation of the water in the River Gajah Wong through the Grebeg institution, but also of the other stakeholders where education and training links up with the local knowledge and practice of sustainable water management.