Hi my name is Andrew Benson. I have been living in Indonesia for about 20 years now. Almost half my life.

I aim to use this blog to chronicle some work I’m involved in regarding the development of bamboo products.

I’ve also just had a baby. Well my wife did the baby having part, but it makes me a daddy and has given me a re-newed sense of responsibility toward the environment.

It’s easy to feel overwhelmed when it comes to Indonesia and the environment. Indo Greenie ? Are you kidding me ? This place is an environmental disaster ! A glimpse into the end of the world even ! ‘Kiamat’ as they like to say over here. The standard of air quality here went way off the radar past ‘Hazardous’ years ago. You can still see a meter that was set up to measure air quality under the overpass down by Gambir train station. It was turned off a couple of years ago – probably because it only ever showed the worst possible rating. About the same time the government launched a ‘Blue skys’ committee. Their motto “In search of….â€