Conscious Conversations is a series of interviews by the ARGO community. Every living being on this planet has a story to tell, and these journeys make up the chapters found within the story of our planet. This is humanity's mark.
It is 6 PM in Manila, Philippines. The sun has already melted into the skyline, painting the heavens the most vivid purple. Through the screen, we are met with flashes of the late afternoon sun, peeking behind our guest from Bali, Indonesia. I'd like to think of Indonesians as very distant neighbors of ours, you see. Different cultures and religions, yes, but brothers nonetheless. Today's neighbor was none other than Gary Bencheghib — perhaps one of the most multi-hyphenated people we know of. We exchange formalities, though I assure him that our team wants this to play out as casually as possible.
"I'm sorry there's a little cat that might make a few noises," he says, and true enough, the gentle mews do surface.
I shift in my seat, going through the interview flow one last time."It's okay," I say, half of the statement coming out as an answer, and the other half being said to calm myself down. Smiling, he says, "yeah, cool."
"Okay, so, with introductions, you don't really need them, 'cause you're, like, Gary Bencheghib. People could easily Google you and your work. Like, there's nothing we can't find out through Google. But those are bits of common knowledge, so what is it that we can't find out about you and your work through Google? Is it something you want us to know about? Something important to you?"
"Well, it's a huge honor for you to say that, but I don't think I'm there yet. Just a passionate activist at heart trying to make it through cleaning rivers here in Indonesia. I never really thought about it that way, actually, but it started with my brother and sister. We created a media organization, cleaning up beaches in Bali. It was called Make A Change, at the time, and it has turned into a full force passion project. From an environmental media organization, and now, a full river cleanup organization. I hope that answers your question."
"That's great! So how old were you guys when this happened? I assume you were pretty young."
"Yes, I was fourteen, my brother was twelve, and my sister was sixteen. We started every week, wanting to make a difference on the beaches, seeing plastic pollution really everywhere on the island of Bali. This was before environmentalism was even considered "sexy", so there weren’t as many environmental groups out there, and doing a beach cleanup was seen as "the lame thing to do", but we kept on going every week. We started with a group of friends. From there, we saw the momentum growing, and some cool musician friends of ours joined, and then all of a sudden, we had 50-60 people showing up on weekends. When I graduated from the international school here, I was really looking for a way to amplify our work, and I fell in love with film making. I turned my camera into a media weapon to amplify the cause."
"Have you heard of Jack Harries? Your life trajectory reminds me of his, actually!"
"Yes! I am, actually, familiar with both Jack and Finn and their work."
"Since you mentioned that you started with your siblings, much like Jack and Finn, how did you get into environmentalism at such an early age, given that it wasn't such a widespread movement back when you guys started?"
"I think it's just seeing how polluted our beaches were in Bali. We moved here when I was eight, so Bali was super pristine back then. It really was this tropical paradise with super pristine beaches you'd see in postcards. So, through the years, witnessing mass development happen meant more tourism, and that meant more consumption. In turn, our very playground where we'd spend literally every single afternoon, got trashed. So the beaches where we'd go surfing really took a hit, and affected the way that I was seeing how our island was getting destroyed. All of that just led to this passion to protect the island, and I've been focusing 100% of my time on how I can use my camera and also my dirty hands to make more of a difference on the island."
"I wish we were more like that down here. We’ve also got tons of coastal cities, but we’ve lost most of them to industrialization. Anyway, for the next question: In certain areas of Southeast Asia, ‘sachet culture’ runs more rampant in more destitute and poverty-stricken areas. And while it is a given that sachet products are more affordable than grocery store alternatives that come in bottles, do you think it's possible for these areas to be more sustainable?"
"I think that it's definitely possible. Prior to sachets being introduced around the mid-70s, because that was when plastics entirely took over Asia, people were living on banana leaves or pandan leaves. They were very one with nature, until we saw the big commercialization of products, mass population rise, and the need for single use plastic for mass transportation becoming more and more apparent. So much of what we use today is wrapped in single use plastic, especially multilayered sachets. Any market in Indonesia, and I'm sure in the Philippines as well — you can't look away from them. Unfortunately, these multilayered sachets are not recyclable, and there are no standards set by governments as to what plastic you should wrap your goods with. Having multiple layers means they're using multiple plastics to make a single sachet. I think the best solution to this would be to approach a more traditional way of consumption — zero waste lifestyle, shopping in bulk — but, unfortunately, with this growth of population, it doesn't seem too likely. Here in Bali, the two biggest chains are Alfamart and Indomart. You walk into one of them, and every single piece on the aisle is wrapped in sachets, so those are the sachet machines, right? Even eggs and fruits are wrapped in plastic! But what if you could create an Alfamart that was a no plastic market? A bulk store for a local level, at a similar price range, because the biggest problem when you buy in bulk is that the general population doesn't necessarily have the means to purchase more than what they need for the day. You're seeing this transition happen in Jakarta and other places in Indonesia, and maybe even a few in Manila. They're called Zero Waste Stores, where you buy in bulk. These traditional practices are coming back again. In Europe, they've taken off, and some cities in America really rely on Farmers Markets. The mechanism that needs to be changed is our behavioral mindset. We need to improve our lives in terms of simplicity.”
"Well, we do have Zero Waste Stores here, but the problem is they're situated in privileged areas, so they're not necessarily accessible to the target demographic — the masses. As a follow up question to that, how do you think we can make Western Powers pay more attention to how their choices and lifestyles affect the Global South? Who do you think should account for more responsibility — the manufacturers of these products or the governments of these respective nations in the Global South?"
"That's a very interesting question. So much of the work we're trying to do at Sungai Watch, our river cleanup organization, is being transparent with what ends up in our rivers. We're a cleanup organization, but our biggest focus is on collecting data consisting of audits on which brands mostly end up in our rivers — which brands are ultimately responsible. When you look at these products, who do you blame? Do you blame the consumers who didn't have the infrastructures to dispose of them, nor the awareness, or do you blame these massive corporations — the Western Powers, as you mentioned — producing these packagings in the first place? In the EU, they're trying to pass this law that all single use plastics should be recyclable by 2021, meaning they can be fully circular, making them go back to the recycling stream instead of a landfill. So that's an example of how set standards can be good when acted on. In Southeast Asia, there are no standards in place. Break Free from Plastic publicizes their audits and holds people accountable. On our data I recorded, we were doing the tests in Bali. Unilever actually came first. But the response was basically, "we're gonna keep producing until the government enforces these standards." It's like an open field; there are no standards. Why wouldn't they sell packaging for cheaper if there are no checks and balances? We don't have to shame corporations, we just have to show them the transparency of the impact of their products. This is a conversation that should happen between governments, waste management sectors, and audit distributors."
"I completely agree. During your cleanups, have you ever come across a piece of plastic that didn't come from Indonesia? Because western countries often have the tendency to ship their plastic waste to Southeast Asia."
"That is another really good question, but most of our cleanups take place in Bali, and the shipments usually arrive in Surabaya, East Java, which is a different island, so we haven't really seen the consequences of these large shipments of trash. But, since Bali is a tourist island, we've seen products from places as far as China and France, and that's a consequence of tourism and large numbers of expats coming over. The tourism industry lacks waste management. Tourism needs to be a lot more conscious as to what happens with waste, so they need to step up their game. We've seen the degradation of beaches and streets because of mass tourism, and mass tourism doesn't necessarily follow direct development protocols, and waste management isn't usually prioritized."
"Is waste management part of the curriculum in Indonesia? It isn't necessarily a big thing in the education system applied down here."
"There's little of it on a local level, by NGOs in Bali, since it's a hotspot for environmentalism. with so many NGOs focusing on the environment and education, which is great to see because they do presentations in schools! but from the governments, there was no mention of the environment only until recently. So, at a national level, environmentalism is not at the forefront of schools. Integrating environmentalism is key to the development of many developing countries."
"I feel like I should ask you this question, since you clearly have a platform. I don't know if you've noticed, but social media platforms have become more and more marketing-centered, and less focused on highlighting our life's pivotal moments. With an influx of ‘influencers’ promoting various products and a consumerist mentality, how do you think these ‘influencers’ could be more eco-conscious?"
"I think that's super interesting, especially after watching a movie like The Social Dilemma. It's true that these platforms are made to keep you longer. With Make A Change, we're trying to make our content super inspirational through interviewing changemakers around the world, but that's not what mainstream media is doing today. They're just creating headlines just to keep people tuned in. Clickbait, if you will. So, now more than ever, we need to be a lot more concerned as to what we're reading and digesting. It's true that this new generation is looking up to a mass of influencers who are non-sustainable. Hopefully, COVID has taught us to be more conscious personally within our homes and getting ourselves more into nature. It's a tricky question, but people should try being more selective of what they consume, going on social media diets, and maybe even going on an influencer unfollow spree and replacing influencers with people who could truly inspire them. I think this would make people more productive and feel better about themselves. There's no point in following people who get in the way of you becoming your best self. Try going on a social media diet on a set Sunday each month. No phones, just enjoy basking in nature. You'll realize that what surrounds you is way more important than what you see from social media.
"There's so much more to that inner experience of going out in the field. I get different people coming to my river cleanups, and that's so great, because it's the personal experience I want them to feel. Maybe it's their first river cleanup, maybe it's their third, but that physical experience of going out and doing is so powerful. Ultimately experiencing it yourself will get your heart beating faster and get you more into the experience. Google; do your research. Reach out. Volunteer. Watch documentaries, which is how lots of environmentalists have started. There's so much you could do online. COVID or no COVID, we really should let that inner changemaker shine out of us."
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