Stores. Dishes made with tofu are very popular. In indonesia, tofu is known as tahu, its usually deep fried and eaten with chili peppers. Its tasty and its good for you. Many people take their lunch back to the office. Tofu is a staple of indonesian cuisine. It can be prepared in a wide variety of ways. However tofu is creating a wide variety of problems across indonesia. Residents of a village in western java are protesting against tofu manufacturers. There are 21 tofu makers in the village. The wastewater they produce plutoni pollutes rivers. They are demanding that tofu makers stop placing wastewater within rivers within three days. The river water is polluted so theres no way we can use it. Across indonesia, tofu is usually produced by small family run businesses. There are more than 80,000 of them nationwide. Theyre usually concentrated in areas with a plentiful supply of pure water, resulting in what are called tofu villages. However, the wastewater these businesses produce contains large amounts of organic matter, much of which ends up in rivers. As a result, bodies of water in and around tofu villages suffer from serious pollution. The indonesian government is addressing this issue with a new system that would put the wastewater to productive use. In a Pilot Project, pipes are being installed to correllect t wastewater and store it in tanks. Bacteria are then used to break down the pollutants, converting the waste fluid into clean water. The methane gas produced during the process is sold to local residents to generate the income required to maintain the system. Our system is highly adaptable. It can be used in any kind of environment. And we want to keep improving the technology. Can indonesia keep producing large a. Mounts of tofu without harming the environment . We follow the efforts to achieving these two goals. Kalisari is a village in central java province. 5,000 people live here in 1,500 houses. Around 250 households work in the industry and 70 of local workers have some connection with it. Kalisari is the first village to benefit from a new Processing System developed by the indonesian government. Four facilities have been set up to collect and process wastewater from 160 tofu makers, around 63 of the total. 60,000 liters can be collected in a single day. Slamet riyadi was once local farmer, but 16 years ago, he started operating the tofu business that had been started by his wifes family. His workday begins at 3 00 a. M. He starts with soybeans that have been standing in water for six hours. He grinds them up, all the while adding more water. This transforms the beans into a viscous liquid. The tofu is simmered slowly. He continues the process for around 30 minutes, while adjusting the temps. Heating the beans draws out the proteins and other nutrients they contain. The mixture is then filtered through a cloth. This removes the bean husks and extracts the soy milk used to make the tofu. The husks are used as an mall feed. It only takes about three minutes for the soy milk to begin to thicken. The excess liquid is carefully removed. Its then tipped down the drain. In the past, this nutrient rich liquid, flowed straight into the river. However this facility is now connected to a wastewater plant. After the excess water is removed, the lumpy mixture is placed in wooden frames. The frames are covered with lids. And stones are placed on top to drain the tofu. 15 minutes later, the tofu is ready. Every day he repeats this process three times, using a total of 30 kilograms of soybeans. His wife cuts the tofu into blocks. Each block is then fried in oil. They Work Together for four hours, finishing at 7 00. At 8 00, they load the tofu into a shared taxi. They want to get it to market while it is still fresh. Ill be waiting at home. Selling the tofu is it takes about 15 minutes to reach her destination. Its the largest town in the area. People from the surrounding villages come to sell their products at the market here. Every day, he rents a space in front of the same shop. Before shes even set up, her first customers arrive. Theyre kind enough to help. The tofu blocks come in three sizes, the smallest costs 150 rubias. The largest are 1,000. Most of her customers run restaurants or food stalls. Some buy 100 blocks at a time. Its fresh and delicious, im a regular customer. In three hours, all of her tofu is sold. Shes made 100,000 rubias, roughly 8 u. S. Dollars. Kalisari has four facilities for processing tofu wastewater. Theyre managed by local residents. Ryadi is one of them. He visits one of them every day. The wastewater is stored here. It comes from 17 businesses. Part of the daily routine is checking to see that the pump is working properly and that no sediment is blocking the system. A filter removes sediment and debris before the water is transferred to the storage tank. Bacteria in the tank remonves te polluting nutrients by breaking down the plant material. Then the water is filtered and finally discharged into the river. A second tank collects the gas released when the bacteria break down the compounds in the wastewater. A scale on the outside makes it easy to see how much gas is stored within. The gas is piped to approximately 30 households where it is used for cooking. Im delighted that we have a Treatment Plant here in our village. Its such a wonderful thing. Its as if i have got money from a friend. Also, well look after the plant and well take very good care of it. And make sure that it doesnt get dirty and break down. The first wastewater Processing Plant went online november 2009. It owes its existence to the vision of one resident. Wibowo is 44. He was village chief for six years starting in 2007. His prominent role in the village dates back to an unforgettable experience. The year before he became chief, there was a major earthquake in central java, more than 5,500 people died and more than 100,000 homes were destroyed. Immediately after the earthquake, wibowo asked the neighboring villages to provide food and clothing to the survivors. I spent hours traveling to various villages. When i came back, what i saw in front of my house brought me to tears. There was a huge mountain of donations. People had provided far more than i could ever have imagined. After my friends and i delivered the supplies to the disaster area, people around here started to trust me. And they eventually chose me as the village head. The following year, wibowo was elected village chief with the overwhelming support of local residents. Around that time, pollution resulting from the tofu making process was being becoming a bigger problem every year. Back when tofu was made by hand, a business could only produce about 15 kilos a day. But after they started using machines to grind the soybeans, they were able to produce 100 or even 200 kilos a day. We were happy to see an increase in production, but this also increased the amount of wastewater which led to greater pollution. Wibowo discussed the issue with his neighbors. In early 2009, he brought it to the attention of an acquaintance who worked for the ministry of environment and forestry. The governments agency for the assessment and application of technology was developing a system to address Environmental Issues caused by indonesias tofu villages. The agency was looking for a place to test the system. The number of villages to see how we could protect the tofu industry using our technology. We chose kalisari for the Pilot Project because of the high concentration of tofu makers. Construction of the Treatment Plant was soon under way. When it was completed in november 2009, it became the first of its kind in indonesia. Three more facilities were built and kalisari gradually saw an improvement in water quality. Once a month, local residents ga gather at this Treatment Plant. They come to give it a good cleaning. On this day, 15 people joined the team. Seven years after it opened, the plant has become very important to members of the community. Ryadi has been responsible for managing it the whole time. A few years earlier, a problem had arizin. The pump isnt working properly. We cant move wastewater into the tank. I dont know the actual cause. But maybe the pump was sucking up saidmeediment along with the water. When the facility was first built, the government provided three pumps. Over the years, two of them had completely worn out. And just a few days earlier, the final pump had begun to malfunction, sometimes stopping all together. The reservoir was nearly full. It would soon start to overflow. We have to fix it quickly. Otherwise the river will get polluted again. He decided to take the pump in for repairs. His cousin drove him on his moped to the nearby market town. Hello. He took the pump to a specialist who had helped him with problems before. Please fix it so that it sucks up the water properly. It might be tough depending on whats wrong with it. Please do your best. Do whatever you can. The mechanic checked the motor. Its spinning both clockwise and counterclockwise. Well, it originally spun clockwise, didnt it . The motor was behaving very strangely. Is that common . Not really. If it can spin either way, it means theres a problem with something inside. When you plug it in, it should turn clockwise. Thats why its strange that it goes in the opposite direction too. The mechanic removed the motor from the pump and checked everything out. He fixed some of the wiring. It took 30 minutes. Before it was spinning in both directions. But now its spinning clockwise. Does that mean its fixed . Not completely. But you can take it home and try it. Okay. Well see how it works. Be careful. What should i worry about . Try not to leave it running for long. The Emergency Repair was finally complete. Back in the village, he explained the situation to his neighbors. The pump stopped working. So i took it in to be fixed. I was told that i should buy a new one. Even a mechanic in the city didnt have the necessary components, so he couldnt fix it completely. Thats why im asking all of you to help out. Tshsarwen, the book keeper m her report. The current balance is 961,000 rupee. Around 30 nearby households use methane gas from the plant. Each pays about 20,000 rupeas a month. That covers electricity and maintenance. Whatevers left over is kept in reserve. However there wasnt enough cash on hand to buy a new pump. Couldnt we ask each household to donate, say, about 20,000 rupeas . Because if everyone pitched in, we would surely be able to afford a new pump. A brand new one. Would that be enough . 20,000 rupeas for a pump . Thats right. Thats one time only, right . Once we buy it, and the Treatment Plant starts working again, just make sure you pay your gas bill every month. The villagers decided that 20,000 rupea payment would be voluntary. No one would be forced to contribute. The following day, he reinstalled the repair puir pum inside the reservoir. Another tofu maker lent a hand. The pump was once again sucking up wastewater. 10 minutes later, the processed water started to flow out of the tank. If it werent for riyadi, the Treatment Plant would have broken down long ago. Im the leader of this neighborhood, but i dont know anything about repairs or technical stuff. So riyadi is always very helpful. Riyadi hopes to buy a new pump within a month. By using the wastewater from tofu makers to produce biogas, kalisari is addressing the issue of nutrient pollution, and its a model that the government hopes other communities will soon be able to call on. Hello, welcome to nhk newsline. It is thursday, december 22nd, 10 00 a. M. Im Catherine Kobayashi in tokyo. First a milestone in the decadeslong alliance between japan and the United States on okinawa. The u. S. On thursday returned to japan about 4,000 hectares or more than half of the northern training area. It is largest ever parcel of land to be returned since okinawas reversion since u. S. Administration in 197 2. It is the largest u. S. Military training site in the southern prefecture. The governments of japan and the United States agreed on the return in 1996