Disaster Risk Reduction Education with Magical Muppets
Updated: Aug 12
In 1999, Alam Santi co-founder Petra Schneider founded IDEP Foundation, a local NGO that responded to over 30 major disasters in Indonesia.
While at IDEP for over two decades, Petra and fellow Alam Santi co-founder Gede Sugiartha led the design and production of community education handbooks, comic books and films built to raise awareness of the early signs of natural disasters and the correct response to them.
In 2006, IDEP collaborated with Trocaire, Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS), No Strings and Cordaid to produce a series of films covering multiple disaster scenarios, which became standard material in schools and community meetings across Indonesia. Kathy Mullen, a former principal performer with The Muppet Show, served as the chief designer and creator of the films.
Teaching early sign response
The films were built for children, teaching them to recognise the common early warning signs of natural disasters and to respond correctly. This media equipped local communities to act quickly when disaster strikes, and has helped avoid a significant number of casualties over the years.
The series comprises five short films covering earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanoes, floods and landslides, and social conflict transformation. The heroine, "Little Girl," models the right behaviour and builds a sense of responsibility in young viewers. "Badu," her counterpart, gets everything wrong, bringing humour to the material while reinforcing key disaster prevention messages. The films are available in Indonesian, Tetun, Acehnese and English, and spread quickly through families, communities and villages.
Built to be passed on
Head facilitators were trained to use puppets to stimulate discussion and reinforce the films' messages through songs, puzzles and games, with both children and adult groups. The approach is deliberately simple, designed so that anyone can understand and share information about correct disaster responses. This approach builds community capacity to respond before a disaster hits, rather than relying solely on outside intervention afterwards.
Reach
The films were distributed to schools and communities in several high-risk regions of Indonesia, and screened for over 10,000 school children and a further 5,000 people at public events.
Remote communities are often hardest to reach when disaster strikes, and outside help can be slow to arrive. Preparing entire communities in advance saves lives when it matters most.
Alam Santi offers campaign consultancy and educational media production, with years of experience in message design and community outreach.
Contact us if you have a topic, project or programme that you want to bring to communities across Indonesia or the Asia-Pacific region in a way that's reliable, memorable and built to last.