The river flows sluggishly, sometimes forming tiny eddies, at other times only ripples. Dirty foam spews out of sewage drains carrying smelly waste.

This is a common sight along the entire Ciliwung River, between Kampung Melayu in eastern Jakarta and Manggarai to the south. Right at the Manggarai floodgates, garbage comprising plastics, wooden chips, cardboard, banana leaves and sometimes mattresses pile up. Most of what gets tangled at the