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Amid the encirclement of skyscrapers in the Thamrin area of Central Jakarta, Kampung Kebon Melati has managed to endure as a settlement that is orderly, green, and relatively comfortable.
While the surrounding area has grown into a modern business hub, this kampung has developed through a different path: years of consistent community cooperation.
Not because of major government projects, but thanks to the collective awareness of residents who take care of their environment day by day. The lack of assistance and empathy from the government has instead become a trigger for residents to stand on their own feet.
“I honestly feel that the government’s empathy is lacking. They work based on targets,” said the Head of RW 06 Kebon Melati, Yudha Praja, when met by Kompas.com on Wednesday (24/12/2025).
According to Yudha, during more than a decade of managing RW 06, there has been almost no tangible support that truly touches residents’ efforts to maintain their environment.
“There has never really been any, and there’s no need to know either. Even the subdistrict rarely comes down, let alone SDA or the regency,” Yudha said.
The habit of sweeping at 9:00 a.m.
Orderliness in Kampung Kebon Melati did not form instantly. Yudha said the changes began with something simple, namely building habits.
“Socialization alone is not enough. I have to be an example. Every morning I sweep,” Yudha said.
He asked residents to at least sweep the front of their houses every day.
“By 9:00 a.m., everything is usually already neat,” he said.
The habit did not always run smoothly. At the beginning of its implementation, there were still residents who littered or were reluctant to follow shared rules.
Children who littered were reprimanded. However, Yudha actually saw children as the key to long-term change.
“Precisely from these children we hope that good habits will grow,” he said.
From the routine of sweeping every morning, a sense of belonging to the environment grew. Narrow alleys became clean, plants well maintained, and shared spaces enlivened by residents’ activities.
The ups and downs of managing the environment
Maintaining the environment amid development pressure is not easy. According to Yudha, the toughest challenge is not only physical issues, but maintaining residents’ consistency.
“This has to become a habit. If it stops, it goes back to old habits,” he said.
To maintain closeness, Yudha often goes directly to residents’ homes, just to have coffee and chat.
“I often go for coffee at residents’ houses. One house, one coffee, up to seven cups a day. But from that, relationships become fluid,” Yudha said.
This closeness makes residents unhesitant to convey their problems. During the Covid-19 pandemic, residents’ solidarity was strongly felt.
Residents who were sick were helped together, including boarding house tenants who could not return to their hometowns.
“Even though they are not original residents here,” Yudha said.
Environmental security is also relatively well maintained.
“Motorcycles parked outside every night, incidents (of theft) are rare,” he said.
According to Yudha, Tanah Abang is not an area prone to crime, but prone to commotion. Therefore, the role of neighborhood administrators becomes very important.
Although various innovations are running, Yudha considers the government’s role to be far from ideal. He criticized Jakarta’s waste management, which he considers not yet serious.
“RW is forced to manage waste, whereas management should be at the subdistrict level,” he said.
According to Yudha, if each subdistrict had its own processing facilities, the burden on the Bantargebang Integrated Waste Processing Site (TPST) could be reduced.
He also regretted the lack of external support to expand the impact of RW 06’s environmental movement.
“Even without money we can still mobilize the community. But if we want to grow, we still need support,” he said.
A kampung behind the business center
Previously, on Wednesday (24/12/2025), Kompas.com traced Kampung Kebon Melati, Tanah Abang, Central Jakarta. From Jalan KH Mas Mansyur towards Dukuh Pinggir V, the city atmosphere changed drastically.
Busy main roads gave way to narrow asphalt alleys that were only wide enough for one car. Residents’ houses stood close together, some still maintaining old forms with small terraces and clotheslines on the upper floors.
From inside the alleys, the glass towers of the Thamrin area were clearly visible towering above. The contrast between the kampung and Jakarta’s modern business center seemed to form a permanent backdrop to the lives of Kebon Melati residents.
Despite being in the heart of the city, a green nuance is still strongly felt. Pots of plants line the alleys, ranging from ornamental plants to banana trees growing lushly in residents’ yards.
The dense foliage makes the air more shaded. In several spots, sunlight is blocked by leaves, creating cool corridors amid Jakarta’s heat.
On one side of the kampung, Waduk Melati flows calmly. A paved footpath along the reservoir is used as a shared space.
Simple benches, a small park bearing the sign “Taman Dugar RW 06,” and colorful fences mark residents’ efforts to care for their public spaces.
Waste is processed, not discarded
One of the main pillars of Kampung Kebon Melati is waste management. In several corners of RW 06, locked plastic bottle collection points can be seen.
Banners prohibiting burning and indiscriminate dumping of waste are installed, complete with references to DKI Jakarta Regional Regulation Number 3 of 2013.
The Head of RT 008 RW 06, Andi (48), said waste management innovations were born from residents’ awareness.
“Throughout my experience traveling around Jakarta, most dense settlements are synonymous with slums. But not here. Entering this area feels like therapy,” Andi said.
RW 06 has a waste bank, organic waste processing using maggots, and composters. Plastic waste is channeled to the waste bank, while household organic waste is processed into maggot feed.
“Every day we can process around 40 kilograms of organic waste. This maggot program has been running for about five years,” Andi said.
He admitted that he attended maggot processing training and then passed it on to residents. The maggots are sold to anglers or used as feed for fish and chickens.
“It’s quite helpful to add a little to daily needs,” he said.
In addition to maggots, waste that is difficult to process is put into composters and turned into fertilizer. “That’s why the soil here can be fertile,” Andi said.
All of these systems operate without major assistance from external parties.
“There is no major CSR, no company assistance. Everything is purely from residents and RW administrators,” he said.
Surviving amid development
Kampung Kebon Melati is located in a strategic area, about one kilometer from the HI Roundabout, and close to Karet Station and the MRT line. Large-scale development around it has been felt since around 2004.
“Buildings started to rise, but there are still residents who remain,” Andi said.
Some residents choose to stay because land prices are not suitable, while others stay because they already feel comfortable living in the kampung.
RW 06 has eight RTs with around 259 households. Most houses in this area are permanent, unlike parts of RW 05 which are still dense and prone to inundation, especially near railway tracks and development projects.
“As for empty houses that are left with only walls, that’s usually because the land has been bought by speculators or companies, but not yet developed,” Andi said.
Despite being flanked by development, RW 06 is relatively safe from flooding.
“During major floods that reached Thamrin and the UOB area, the water actually flowed there, not here,” he said.
The higher topography and the presence of the reservoir are determining factors.
Voices of residents: cool amid the city
For Ria (32), a housewife who has lived in Kebon Melati for decades, the kampung offers a quality of life rarely found in the city center.
“Even though this is the city center, it feels different. Not like Jakarta that’s extremely hot. Here it’s still cool because there are many trees,” Ria said when met in front of her house.
She enjoys the cool mornings, when residents sweep while chatting. Children can play outside without overheating.
“When you come home from the heat and traffic outside and enter this kampung, it feels immediately different. More peaceful,” Ria said.
According to her, residents remind each other to protect the environment.
“If someone cuts down a tree carelessly, they will definitely be reprimanded. Because we know, those trees are for our own health,” she said.
Notes from an urban planning observer
Urban observer from Universitas Indonesia, Muh Aziz Muslim, said that the existence of Kampung Kebon Melati cannot be separated from Jakarta’s development history.
According to him, massive business center development since the 1990s has left kampungs “trapped” in the middle of the city.
“This is an existing condition. Kampung Kebon Melati seems trapped amid very massive development in Jakarta’s city center,” Aziz said when contacted.
Aziz emphasized the importance of the role of local government in maintaining the quality of life of residents who remain.
According to him, kampung residents have the right to enjoy public facilities and basic services as legitimate city residents. He believes future city planning must be more disciplined and inclusive.
“Development must involve community participation without sacrificing urban kampungs,” he said.
Aziz also highlighted the importance of certainty over land rights for kampung residents. Without such protection, urban kampungs risk being increasingly marginalized by vertical development.
“A good city is not only modern, but livable and sustainable,” he said.
Behind the glitter of Jakarta’s skyscrapers, Kampung Kebon Melati stands as an example that a city can be nurtured from the ground up.
With minimal government assistance, residents have instead found strength in mutual cooperation—sweeping at nine in the morning, managing their own waste, and preserving the remaining greenery so it can stay alive.
