ZeroWaste Center received a group of Japanese students from Earth Company to have an interesting and knowledgeable experience through the ZeroWaste Tour. They looked enthusiastic to try interactive activities such as natural dyeing, recycling paper, and soap at ZeroWaste Center. Furthermore, they bring ecological and agricultural insights back home by learning waste management, permaculture, and reforestation.

Interactive Tour at ZeroWaste Center 

In the beginning of the tour, the Japanese students showed their interest to learn and hand on activities that they would experience during the tour. The first station that amazed them was Natural Dyeing Station where they learn the benefits of coloring cloth by using materials from nature. They also had the opportunity to practice natural dyeing at the station. After the natural dyeing station, they moved to soap and paper recycling where they learned how important recycling is, especially for paper and soap. 

Workshop station where we conduct experiments and research about how to reuse and recycle waste made the Japanese students more enthusiastic to ask some questions and deliver some ideas. Moving to the waste station, the guest seemed very interested to ask some questions related to how to manage waste and where this waste will end up. Compost stations succeeded in making them realize that food waste that we produce at home could be useful for plants around us, and that activity is easy to apply at home. 

Bringing them to the seedling station where we start all the life of the center is another interesting moment because we had seedball practice where the origin of seedball came from Japan, their country. They looked so surprised after hearing the news about the seedball’s history. I brought them to look at the permaculture garden and explain  companion methods that were implemented in the garden. Moreover, they received ecological knowledge related to deforestation and marine issues during this tour before going to local jamu station in the end.