Bintaro Lama Field Trip

On the 12th of November we went to a special kampung located in Bintaro. The reason why this kampung is special is because they purify and treat their water. They get the water from a small polluted river located near the village. The bus journey from school to the Kampung was about one and a half hour. At first I thought, "how could the villagers live and drink the water that was so dirty?" I then learnt how they purify their own water. We visited three of the six stages of how they purify their own water.

The first stage which was station six that we visited was called Disinfection. There are 2 ways of making the water potable. They use a small tablet which is called "Aqua Tab." One Aqua tab can disinfect about 30 liters of water, but the setback is that you have to wait for 30 minutes before the Aqua tab dissolves in the water and disinfects it. The ingredients for the Aqua tab is chlorine and other chemicals. One strip of 6 aqua tabs cost Rp.6000. The second way the villagers used to purify their water is that they use a liquid called Air Rahmat . A few drops of Air Rahmat can disinfect 5 liters of water. The disadvantage is that you have to shake the water with the drops of Air Rahmat inside a container for 30 seconds.

The second stage that we visited which was station 2. Station 2 is about the importance of hygiene. The guide explained about what happens if you don't wash your after you have gone to the toilet. (\_/) There are 5 ways that the feces from the human waste that can contaminate

(=*_*=)

the food we eat. One way is by not washing your HANDS!!

Our final stage that we visited was station 4. Station 4 was about filtration,flocculation and sedimentation. First the villagers put a chemical inside. The name of the product is called PUR. PUR is used to collect the dirt particles in the water to make floc. One packet of PUR costs Rp.1000. Then the floc particles sink to the bottom of the container which is called sedimentation. Then they filter the water by inserting a clay pot in a bucket. They cover the hole in the clay pot by laying filter cloth. Then they pour the water with the floc particles in the water. The dirt gets trapped in the clay pot and the water flows through the cloth. This process is similar to the Water Treatment Plant.

Although the kampung was very dirty, the villagers were extremely kind to us. There is only one small school in the village and most of the children who live in the village can't afford education. I think it was a great learning experience for me. The most interesting part was when the children sang a song about the importance of washing your hands.