Four residents of the small Indonesian island of Pulau Pari have vowed to fight one of the most climate-damaging industries: cement. Their fight has made headlines around the world. In this report, we meet them on their threatened home island. From Jakarta, it takes an hour by boat and then a five-minute walk to reach the modest guesthouse in the centre of Pulau Pari, a tiny island whose name has become known around the world. Once there, the visitor’s eye is immediately drawn to numerous posters calling to “save the island”. Standing at the stove frying bananas is Ibu Asmania, manager of the guesthouse. She is also behind the first climate complaint filed in Switzerland against cement manufacturer Holcim. On this Wednesday morning in October, the guesthouse terrace is crowded. A journalist and cameraman from an Indonesian television channel and two representatives from a local NGO have also made the trip. “We’ve come to tell the same story,” says the young journalist enthusiastically.
