Bottom up approach: Kancil, the strive of local informal communities

People with low capacity are vulnerable to flood impact. One community that is prone to flood impacts is those who live on the bank of Ciliwung River in Depok City, Indonesia. In facing floods impact, local people developed Komunitas Anak Ciliwung (KANCIL), an informal society. This society aims to increased awareness of the people in order to save the environment, so that the floods impact can be reduced. The purpose of this study was to determine KANCIL achievement in increasing people participation in maintaining their environment. Data collection was completed by in-depth interviews, while analysis was done using triangulation method between interviews results, expert’s judgments and previous researches. There are two activities that are often done, cleaning and patrolling the river bank. After two years of running, KANCIL evolves relationships with other communities who care about the river. In the other hand, the number of participants as well as the activities carried by KANCIL has not increased. The study results show that the communities were not ready yet to involved in the activities that planned by KANCIL. There are several factors that influence the success of KANCIL’s program. The main factor that is found is the lack of knowledge of the people to the benefits of maintaining the river. Other factors are also influential is the lack of support from formal leaders. This study concluded that the bottom-up activities such as KANCIL, requires knowledge and commitment of participants as means of locomotion. If the local people do not have adequate knowledge, the role of leaders and formal institutions must be strong. Knowledge and support from formal leaders are important to encourage the people in carrying out the program that has been compiled.