grantees » Amirudin Muttaqin
Amirudin Muttaqin, Indonesia
Amirudin Muttaqin started working in environmental education as a green school counselor in 2007. Since then, he’s been working with numerous schools in East Jawa. In 2010, he focused on spring protection especially in the Wonosalam sub-district of the Jombang regency. His work includes environmental education with 23 schools, research in springs, birds, and native trees with local guides and within the context of springs tourism.
He managed to built network connections between communities which use springs, government institutions which own the land, and schools which use springs and forests as as natural laboratories. Currently he is deeply involved in working with his group called KEPUH which is involved in spring protection and which has been recognized by the provincial government as an environmental guardian.
Aside from leading KEPUH group as a community organization, which can act as mediator regarding springs/water issue/conflicts, he also developed so-called springs edutourism. Edutourism stands for education and tourism. The purpose is increasing community participation in spring conservation while giving them alternative income. Participants of spring edutourism are mostly local Indonesian tourists.
In order to improve his communication and writing skills in English in order to be able to communicate with foreign organisations, networks, and tourists he received a JWHi grant to give him the opportunity to follow an English course between February and April 2015.