The project examined the role of religious leaders and institutions, such as mosques and pesantren, in Indonesia’s energy transition and explored grassroots initiatives, socio-political challenges, and the use of stories in policy and community engagement.
Main Research Question:
Can religious leaders and institutions (mosques and pesantren) act as catalysts in Indonesia’s transition to renewable energy?
Sub-questions:
- What influence do religious leaders have on people’s attitudes towards renewable energy?
- Can mosques serve as platforms for education and advocacy on energy transition?
- How can pesantren serve as epistemic communities for local renewable energy development?
- What strategies are effective for raising awareness in urban vs. rural communities
- What are the main barriers hindering the energy transition in Indonesia, and how can they be overcome?
Approach
This project uses digital ethnography to analyze online and offline behaviors, beliefs, and networks in Indonesia’s energy transition. The methods used include a review of policies on energy transition, observation of Online Social networks: Mapping information flows and interactions in Facebook groups and digital forums of grassroots movements related to renewable energy. Exploring how top-down and bottom-up approaches can work together to facilitate the energy transition. Semi-structured Interviews & Online Discussions: Conducted with religious leaders, researchers working on energy transition in Indonesia.
Journey & Process
step 1
This research begins with a literature review to explore the challenges of energy transition in Indonesia and the complex interactions between political, economic and social factors that influence the process. From the initial review, the research then focused on the potential role of religious leaders and religious institutions within the Muslim community as actors that can promote public awareness and engagement in the energy transition.
step 2
Semi-structured interviews were then conducted with interviewees who have backgrounds as researchers in the field of energy transition as well as acting as religious leaders in Muslim communities. These interviews aimed to explore the influence of religious leaders, the potential of mosques as community centers, and the role of pesantren as epistemic communities in supporting social change related to renewable energy.
step 3
In addition, this study also involved digital observations of the subjects’ religious activities that were recorded by a videographer based on the researcher’s direction. The purpose of this observation was to understand how religious values can be linked to energy transition issues in daily practice.
In parallel, the research also analyzed discussions in Facebook social media groups focusing on energy transition to identify community-based initiatives as well as the role of social media in raising public awareness of the issue.
step 4
The results highlight the importance of religious and digital spaces in shaping public behavior and offer innovative approaches to bridge the gap between energy policy and public participation. The findings are presented in the form of a video editorial summarizing key insights from the research.
Reflection
This was new to me, as observation is short term, and social reality cannot be captured instantly. However, this method helped me as a designer to look deeper into the context and understand how people construct meaning around energy transition issues in their daily lives.
As designers, we should not pretend to be saviors, coming up with solutions without really engaging with the community. We must be a listener, we must dive in, understand and be part of the community in the context of real problems.
Researcher
Ganjar Satrio as part of Design Research Methods Course – PSSD Polimi
Script translated by: ChatGPT Open Al
Voice narration by: Generative Voice Al – Eleven Labs
All materials used in this video are sourced under Creative Commons licenses for educational and learning purposes.
Reference
Budiarto, Rachmawan & Ghazali, Abd & Ubaid Abdullah & Wardhana, Ahmad Rahma & Masud, Idris & Mohammad, Jamaluddin & Ma’afi, Mahbub & Wahid, Marzuki. (2018). Fikih Energi Terbarukan – Pandangan Dan Respons Islam Atas Pembangkit Listrik Tenaga Surya (PLTS).
Wardhana, Ahmad Rahma & Ma’rifatullah, Wening. (2020). Transisi Indonesia Menuju Energi Terbarukan.38. 269-283.
Wardhana, Ahmad Rahma. (2023). Transisi energi di Indonesia, tiga hal yang perlu kamu tahu The Conversation]. 10.5281/zenodo. 10034356.
Musahadi, Musahadi. (2018). The Role of Mosque and Khutba in Socio-Economic Development of Indonesia: Lessons from Kauman Mosque in Central Java. global journal al thaqafah. 8. 55-66. 10.7187/GJAT122018-5.
Buku Pilot Project Model Bisnis Pengembangan Ekonomi Pesantren Berbasis EBT
(Unpublish)Breakthrough on Indonesia’s Energy Policy: Adaptive Governance Perspective for Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP)