Humans of Partners for Water: meet Maghfiroh

In the Humans of Partners for Water series, we showcase the people who are involved in and benefit from our projects. The Humans series sheds light on the stories of people who work with and for whom Partners for Water and focus on how water affects their lives. Discover how Maghfiroh’s research is turning scientific knowledge into real change for the communities of Pekalongan.

Meet Maghfiroh

Maghfiroh is an environmental researcher and lecturer at Universitas Pekalongan. Growing up in the heart of Indonesia’s batik industry, she has dedicated her career to ensuring that research does not stop at theory, but creates direct impact for people and their environment.

From the classroom to the community

For Maghfiroh, water has always been part of daily life. Growing up in Pekalongan, home to   around 2,000 batik industries, she witnessed first-hand both the value of water and the impact that water pollution can have. On the environment.

” That is why water is so precious to me, and why I work on wastewater treatment processes. It is deeply meaningful when the results can be applied directly in the community.”

Dutch-Indonesian water cooperation

Indonesia is one of seven Delta countries in the Partners for Water programme 2022–2027. Supported by Partners for Water, the Universitas Pekalongan (UNIKAL) is a key local partner in the Green Batik Pekalongan pilot.  It brings together Dutch and Indonesian organisations to develop community-led wastewater treatment solutions for the batik sector. The university is set to become the future Green Batik Centre, anchoring knowledge, training and innovation locally for the long term. Read more about the project here.