ACT! project and Narasi Academy Engage University Students to Consume Sustainable Products Through Workshop and Talk Show at Yogyakarta
From a cup of tea, a bar of chocolate, youth are encouraged to understand the impact of their daily consumption choices.
Yogyakarta, 18 October 2025 – Accelerating Consumer Transformation for Sustainability in Indonesia or ACT! Project, in collaboration with Narasi through Narasi Academy, organized a series of Workshop Classes and Talk Shows with a theme of “Konsumsi Sadar, Gaya Hidup Berkelanjutan”.
ACT! project is an initiative from a consortium that is made up of Rainforest Alliance, Sustainable Coffee Platform of Indonesia (SCOPI), and Cocoa Sustainability Partnership, supported by the European Union through the SWITCH-Asia program.
The event was convened at the Prof. Harjono Danoesastro Auditorium at the Faculty of Agriculture of Gadjah Mada University (UGM) in Yogyakarta, on Friday, 17 October 2025. The event was opened by Ir. Jaka Widada, M.P., Ph.D., and invited speakers from the Manager Consumer Campaign and Engagement Rainforest Alliance, Margareth Meutia; Agradaya Founder, Asri Saraswati Iskandar; Content Creator, Danang Giri Sadewa; dan Tea n Tales Founder, Sri Wahyuni.
The collaboration aims to increase the consumption of sustainable products through Narasi Academy’s capability to reach youths through creative and interactive approaches.
The goal is to establish awareness among youth so that they are more critical in choosing products, especially coffee, tea, cocoa, and palm oil. Moreover, to build the youth’s understanding of social, economic, and environmental impact from their consumption choices. The event seeks to inspire youths to practice sustainable consumption in their daily lives.
Workshop “Good Taste, Good Impact: Pilihan Konsumsi untuk Keberlanjutan Lingkungan”
The workshop was initiated by Asri Saraswati Iskandar, who invited participants to understand the commodity’s journey from upstream, downstream, to general consumers and its sustainability implications. “Sustainable consumption is not just a trend, but an awareness. From a cup of tea, we can learn that every small decision that we make has a significant impact on farmers, the environment, and the future of our earth,” Asri said.
In the next session, students were engaged in a session of “Blend Your Own Tea” to create the tea of their own making while learning about the Rainforest Alliance certificate. The tea that was blended uses Tea n Tales, which is already Rainforest Alliance certified. As a founder, Wahyuni said that technically, sustainability can start with the simplest things.
In her presentation, she explained a story of traditions in producing and consuming tea from several countries. Wahyuni also explained that tea is a form is a product of civilization that needs to be preserved.
“Sustainability is important since many negative things can happen to the environment if not properly managed, such as land conversion, erosion, pesticide use, and loss of biodiversity. This could further lead to land degradation, polluted water sources, and a reduction of economic resilience for farmers. Hence, sustainability is not just a label, but a way to preserve the ecosystem, food security, livelihoods, and sustenance for future generations.
Talk Show “Konsumsi Kita, Tanggung Jawab Siapa?”
The event follows with a talk show with Margareth Meutia and Danang Giri Sadewa. They discuss the youth’s consumption trend that is often influenced by social media, and discuss ways to encourage the audience to be more aware of the impact of daily consumption.
Meutia emphasizes that Indonesia’s consumption transformation relies heavily on the youth’s awareness. She said that every decision has a big impact on the supply chain. “If we want to ensure the sustainability of coffee, tea, chocolate, and products that contain palm oil, we can contribute by ensuring that the products we consume adhere to the sustainability principle. One of the many ways in which to ensure that it is certified,” she explained.
Meutia also conveys her optimism towards Indonesia’s youth as she believes that they can be an agent of change by encouraging a more fair, responsible, and sustainable consumption.
Meanwhile, Danang said that the youth have a significant power in creating a new trend. “I hope that consumption with mindfulness is not a hard lifestyle, hence we want to make it cool as we know that our choices create a positive impact,” he said.
Danang also invites the audience through a creative session “Ditantang Danang”. Twelve participants were brought to the stage, divided into teams of coffee, tea, chocolate, and palm oil to create a chant on sustainable consumption.
Moving forward, the collaboration between ACT! Project and Narasi Academy can create a community of youth that is critical, caring, and ready to transform the consumption patterns on campus or in their communities. ACT! and Narasi Academy will create a similar activity in Bali.
About ACT! Project
ACT! (Accelerating Consumer Transformation) Project is an initiative from Rainforest Alliance, Sustainable Coffee Platform of Indonesia (SCOPI), and Cocoa Sustainability Partnership (CSP). ACT! The project aims to increase domestic consumption of sustainable coffee, cocoa, tea, and palm oil that adhere to the sustainability principles. ACT! seeks to reduce the negative impact on the communities and environment through sustainable production practices.
About SWITCH-Asia
Established in 2007, SWITCH-Asia is the largest European Union funding program promoting Sustainable Consumption and Production in 42 countries across Asia, the Middle East, and the Pacific. Through the EU Green Deal and Global Gateway, the EU is committed to supporting countries' transition to a low-carbon, circular, and resource-efficient economy while promoting sustainable consumption and production patterns in Asia and greener supply chains between Asia and Europe.
About Narasi Academy
Narasi Academy is a program to develop youth’s skills and knowledge to prepare them for the professional world in the creative industry. Through an interactive class format that combines theory and practice, Narasi Academy brought a relevant, inspiring, and impactful learning experience, as well as nurturing social awareness.