Pandawara Group

Pandawara Group is an Indonesian environmental community founded on 5 May 2022 by five young men from Bandung, West Java: Muchamad Ikhsan Destian, Rafly Pasya, Mochamad Agung Permana, Gilang Rahma, and Muhammad Rifqi Sadulloh. The group began as a personal initiative to address the flooding that frequently affected their neighbourhood; after tracing the problem to waste clogging rivers, they started voluntary clean-up actions without expecting publicity. Their first documented video was uploaded in August 2022 and quickly gained widespread attention, particularly on TikTok, turning them into a national phenomenon. The name 'Pandawara' combines 'Pandawa' — the five heroic brothers of the Mahabharata epic — with 'Wara', a Sundanese word meaning 'good', reflecting the five youths bringing good news for the environment. The group operates through five main programme pillars: Pancaranta (education on polluted beaches), Manahrasa (improving sanitation facilities and waste management), Jaganadara (supporting education through school infrastructure and teacher training), Ajaraksa (school- and university-based environmental literacy), and Jaga Bhumi / River Adopt (river conservation including trash barriers and youth volunteer teams). Pandawara has expanded its reach through regional and international collaborations. In 2024, it ran the 'Creator Contribution' campaign with content creator communities in Southeast Asia, including Sài Gòn Xanh from Vietnam and LKP EMPIRE from Malaysia, conducting clean-ups on the Saigon River and at Batu Rakit Beach in Kuala Terengganu, Malaysia. It also partnered with the Indonesian Embassy in Denmark to develop a Material Recovery Facility (MRF) programme, starting with a small-scale capacity of 10 tons of waste per day. On 11 March 2025, Pandawara Group was officially invited to the Presidential Palace in Jakarta by President Prabowo Subianto, marking national recognition of their efforts. The group has conducted clean-up actions at more than 221 river and coastal locations across Indonesia, collecting over 1.3 million kilograms of waste and involving thousands of volunteers. Their campaigns, such as 'One Day One Trash Bag', encourage public participation in daily waste collection. Academic research highlights their visual and interactive approach as a new model of community-based digital activism, effectively raising environmental awareness among young people.

Pandawara Group was founded on 5 May 2022 by five friends who had known each other since high school in the Kopo area of Bandung, Indonesia. The idea arose from their concern over the frequent flooding in their neighbourhood. After investigating the causes, they found that waste accumulation in rivers was the main trigger of the floods, so they decided to take direct action to clean the rivers. During the first six months, their activities were not documented. It was only after mid-2022 that they began uploading videos of their activities to social media, which brought them national attention. Their first documented video was uploaded in August 2022 and received widespread public attention, particularly on TikTok. The name 'Pandawara' is a combination of 'Pandawa', referring to the five heroic brothers in the Mahabharata epic, and 'Wara', a Sundanese word meaning 'good'. The name is intended to represent the five young men bringing good news for the environment through their concrete actions. To expand their social and environmental impact, Pandawara Group developed five main programme pillars: Pancaranta (education about polluted beaches and the causes of low public environmental awareness), Manahrasa (improving sanitation facilities, waste management, and collaboration with local communities to build sustainable systems), Jaganadara (supporting education through school infrastructure development, teacher training, and environmental education activities), Ajaraksa (school- and university-based environmental literacy with interactive approaches and field activities), and Jaga Bhumi / River Adopt (river conservation including adoption of river basins, installation of trash barriers, formation of young volunteer teams, and environmental campaigns in pollution-prone areas). Pandawara Group also expanded its movement through cross-country cooperation. In 2024, they ran a regional campaign called 'Creator Contribution' involving collaboration with content creator communities in Southeast Asia, such as Sài Gòn Xanh from Vietnam and LKP EMPIRE from Malaysia. The campaign aimed to strengthen awareness of environmental issues at the ASEAN level through discussion forums, technical guides for beach and river clean-ups, and concrete actions at affected locations. In its implementation, Pandawara conducted clean-up actions on the Saigon River in Vietnam and at Batu Rakit Beach in Kuala Terengganu, Malaysia. In addition, Pandawara established cooperation with the Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia in Denmark in developing a Material Recovery Facility (MRF) programme. This programme is an advanced waste management effort, starting on a small scale with a processing capacity of 10 tons of waste per day. It is hoped that this model can be adapted and implemented in major Indonesian cities as a sustainable urban waste management solution. On 11 March 2025, Pandawara Group was officially invited to the Presidential Palace in Jakarta by the President of the Republic of Indonesia, Prabowo Subianto. The meeting was an important moment in Pandawara's journey as an environmental community, signalling national recognition of their efforts in addressing waste and river pollution. During the occasion, one of Pandawara's members, Gilang Rahma, stated that the discussion with President Prabowo focused on waste management and environmental issues in Indonesia. Gilang expressed hope that the meeting's outcomes could encourage more progressive policies in environmental management and open opportunities for collaboration between grassroots communities and the central government. President Prabowo expressed appreciation for Pandawara Group's concrete steps and called their movement an inspiration for the younger generation to participate in preserving the environment. The meeting also symbolised the state's growing attention to public participation in the sustainability agenda. Since the beginning of their activities, Pandawara Group has conducted clean-up actions at more than 221 river and coastal locations across Indonesia. The total waste collected has reached more than 1.3 million kilograms. Their actions have also involved thousands of volunteers from various regions, and they actively encourage public participation through community campaigns such as 'One Day One Trash Bag', which encourages people to collect at least one bag of trash every day. The impact of Pandawara's actions is not only physical on the environment but also cultural and educational. Academic research from various journals shows that the visual and interactive approach used by Pandawara has successfully formed a new model of community-based digital activism. They are considered effective in raising young people's awareness of environmental issues.

• Pandawara Group founded by five friends in Bandung, Indonesia.

• First documented clean-up video uploaded to social media, gaining widespread attention.

• Launched 'Creator Contribution' regional campaign with Southeast Asian content creator communities; conducted clean-ups in Vietnam and Malaysia.

• Partnered with the Indonesian Embassy in Denmark to develop a Material Recovery Facility (MRF) programme.

• Officially invited to the Presidential Palace in Jakarta by President Prabowo Subianto.

Grassroots, youth-driven environmental movement using social media to mobilise public participation in river and coastal clean-ups across Indonesia and Southeast Asia.

Product categories. River and beach clean-up actions · Environmental education programmes · Waste management initiatives · Community volunteer campaigns

1. 1Pandawara Grouppandawara.group
2. 2About Pandawara Group - Our Mission & Visionpandawara.group
3. 3Pandawara Groupwikidata.org
4. 4Pandawara Groupid.wikipedia.org