Article written by: Kaoem Telapak
on August 15, 2025
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Story of Ratu Balgis: Highlighting Activists for Ecology Justice

Amid the struggles of the ecology activists in voicing environmental issues, among them are fellow media friends who help broadcast those voices, including Ratu Balgis.

Nicknamed Balgis, she is a Kaoem Telapak member in Palu, Central Sulawesi who’s working as a radio broadcaster for Indonesia Republic Radio (RRI) Palu region. She has long been involved in the world of radio broadcasting since college and frequently covers a diverse range of topics, including environmental issues.

“I usually talk about ongoing and trending topics related to the government, but sometimes I also cover environmental issues that are trending. In addition, I cover culture, local wisdom, and Indigenous Peoples,” told Balgis about her experiences.

In addition to being a radio broadcaster, she also utilizes her communication skill by becoming a voice actress, an MC, and a moderator for government events, and even a private English teacher.

Thanks to her skills and involvement with fellow ecology activists, Balgis is also creating contents for ecology justice by producing Salam Kaoem, a documentary show that readers can watch on Kaoem Telapak’s social media and Youtube channel.

Providing room for communication for activists and Indigenous Peoples

Since the beginning to this day, Balgis utilizes her journalistic spirit to highlight activists seeking ecology justice, as well as the Indigenous Peoples, whether by involving herself directly or indirectly.

Regarding that, Balgis explained, “If there’s a segment that covers Indigenous Peoples or local culture, we (RRI) frequently invite the Indigenous Peoples representative to have a discussion and storytelling session about the local wisdom.”

As time goes on, Balgis begins to feel a development and change in her perception towards environmental issues, the difficult struggles that the activists continue to face, and the situation of the Indigenous Peoples.

At one point, she felt this change even more drastically when members of Kaoem Telapak visited Palu in 2009. Back then, Balgis’ encounter with one of the visiting Kaoem Telapak members, coupled with encouragement from her own friend who eventually became a member as well, made her join and became a member of Kaoem Telapak as well.

Ratu Balgis, a Kaoem Telapak member, conducting field coverage with her colleagues for Salam Kaoem documentary content. Photo by Salam Kaoem.

The story of Palu TV and Salam Kaoem

In 2009, during Kaoem Telapak’s visit to Palu, Balgis was involved in the creation of a local television network called Palu TV as a part of the Association of Community Local Television (ASTEKI) to encourage news coverage by the local community for the local community.

Not to mention, because Palu TV was also part of Kaoem Telapak’s agenda, Balgis frequently interacted with other Kaoem Telapak members and gained much education or information which shaped her.

“The abundant discussions with the members at that time gave me so much information about journalism. Plus, because Kaoem Telapak has always been more focused toward environmental issues, I also gained much deeper perceptions regarding those issues,” Balgis reflected.

“The threats of environmental destruction, global warming, the welfare and acknowledgement of the Indigenous Peoples; I gained much of them from the fellow members. As a result, I also gained social networking as well,” she continued.

Unfortunately, Balgis’ involvement with Palu TV didn’t last long due to her personal issues at that time. This strained her relationship with Kaoem Telapak little by little.

Meanwhile, project Palu TV eventually stopped after a collective agreement with the members involved.

That said, Balgis’ story with Kaoem Telapak didn’t end that way. After years passed, Balgis had the opportunity to create the documentary serial show, Salam Kaoem, which then became available on Kaoem Telapak’s social media and Youtube channel.

Balgis expressed, “I’m so happy to be able to be involved again and create contents for Kaoem Telapak after such a long time, being able to cover numerous topics such as the figures in Palu or Central Sulawesi, the effect of climate crisis to our region, and Central Sulawesi’s signature Kamanuru Coffee.”

Humbling the language of activism

Balgis admits that she doesn’t prioritize advocacy, but she’s happy with her contribution in media and news broadcasting to highlight the activists seeking ecology justice in Palu or Central Sulawesi.

Throughout her careers in decades, Balgis always implement one core value, and that is to ‘Humble down the language of activism.’

She explained, “If we want to fight for the nature preservation and welfare of the Indigenous Peoples, then we need to make the public understand and appreciate the fights that these people are fighting; make them care about what we’re fighting.”

“Our struggles will be less effective if we’re using overly complicated language that is only understood by fellow activists or academics. The public may not care enough about our fights,” she continued.

Therefore, by implementing her journalism values in her activities as a radio broadcaster or producer for the Salam Kaoem documentary, Balgis will not stop broadcasting the voices of the ecology activists in her own way.

“By humbling down the language of activism, I hope this effort can humanize other people as well, be they the radio listeners or the activists,” Balgis hoped.