Aleta Baun
Aleta Baun , called Mama Aleta , is an Indonesian environmentalist and civil rights activist.
Life
Aleta Baun was born into a farming family and comes from the Molo region . After losing her mother at a young age, she was raised by other women and elders in the village who taught her to respect the environment as a source of spiritual identity and livelihood. Baun, whose lives were shaped by the values of these elders, naturally assumed a leadership role in their community, shared their traditional knowledge and eventually came to be known as "Mama Aleta".
Act
When mining companies began clearing the forests and mining marble from the mountains on the western half of the island of Timor , Mama Aleta understood that it posed a threat to the rights and survival of the local population. Together with three other women, she began the journey from one remote village to the next to do educational work. Despite violent intimidation attempts and a bounty placed on her, Mama Aleta expanded the movement to include hundreds of villagers. 150 women waited for a year on the marble rocks of the mine and quietly wove their traditional fabrics in silent protest. Given the peaceful and sustained presence of the villagers, the marble quarrying became increasingly unsustainable for the companies involved and they finally stopped mining at all four locations in Molo by 2010.
Mama Baun was awarded the Goldman Environmental Prize in 2013 for her work .
Web links
Individual evidence
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Baun, Aleta |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Mama Aleta |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Indonesian environmentalist and civil rights activist |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 20th century |