Celebrating Heroes' Day with action on the coast

Indonesia marks Hari Pahlawan (Heroes' Day) on 10 November each year to remember those who fought for independence. In West Lombok, the Invest Islands Foundation chose that date in 2024 to turn remembrance into tangible environmental stewardship. Starting around 09:00 WITA on Sunday, 10 November, volunteers gathered at Pengantap Beach in Dusun Pengantap, Desa Persiapan Pengantap, Kecamatan Sekotong—a shoreline Invest Islands knows well through its community and sustainability programmes in the Sekotong peninsula.

Local media reported that the cleanup brought together the foundation, Sekotong Police (Polsek Sekotong), youth groups, and residents in a spirit of gotong royong (mutual cooperation). Coverage in Jurnal Fokus highlighted both the environmental aim and the cultural gesture of cleaning the nearby grave of Inaq Bangkol (reported as Inaq Bangkul in some accounts), a respected local figure, before work moved to the beach itself—linking respect for history with care for a landscape that supports fishing families and emerging tourism.

Read more: Transforming East Lombok's Economy Through Sustainable Blue Food

Why Pengantap Beach matters

Sekotong’s south-west coast is prized for clear water, island views, and a quieter pace compared with busier hubs. It is also on the front line of marine plastic pollution carried by currents and visitor activity. Beach cleanups here are not symbolic alone: they protect swimmable water, reduce harm to fisheries, and preserve the aesthetic value that underpins responsible tourism investment. For Invest Islands, which develops land and resort concepts with a sustainability mandate, supporting coastal health aligns commercial long-termism with community welfare.

Participants and programme

According to on-site reporting, Kapolsek Sekotong Iptu I Ketut Suriarta framed the event as a real-world Heroes' Day activity—using the commemoration to raise awareness that environmental care is a shared duty. Staff including Ka SPKT I Aiptu Tri Buana joined foundation members and Polsek Sekotong personnel. Invest Islands Foundation’s community development team has previously emphasised that such programmes build trust with villages adjacent to project sites, creating channels for education on waste separation and coastal etiquette.

Foundation-led operations in 2024 documented collection of roughly 490 kilograms of plastic waste during the Heroes' Day effort—a measurable outcome that quantifies what volunteers removed from the sand and dune line in a single morning session that concluded before midday.

Community response

Residents of Dusun Pengantap participated actively, working alongside foundation volunteers and police. Positive feedback cited in local news reflected hope that regular cleanups would continue and that visitors would follow better waste habits. Representatives from community business groups such as Kube Puncak Gili Lawang Sejahtera have noted that cleaner beaches strengthen social cohesion and support small enterprises tied to tourism and fisheries.

Police involvement underscored safety and visibility: officers helped ensure the activity ran smoothly from start to finish, with participants returning to daily routines by late morning. That coordination model—NGO plus village plus public security—is replicable across West Lombok’s scattered bays.

Link to Invest Islands’ wider sustainability work

The foundation operates alongside Invest Islands’ commercial projects, channelling a portion of development impact toward education, health, and environment. Heroes' Day 2024 fits a pattern of hands-on events rather than one-off donations: tree planting, school support, and coastal cleanups that residents can see and join. For international investors evaluating Lombok, these initiatives signal how the group seeks a social licence to operate in sensitive coastal ecosystems.

Looking ahead

Organisers expressed intent to sustain momentum through follow-up cleanups, youth engagement, and messaging to domestic and international tourists. As Sekotong road access and hospitality capacity improve, waste management must scale with visitation. Partnerships with regency environmental services, recycling collectors, and hospitality operators will determine whether one-day heroism translates into year-round cleanliness.

Invest Islands Foundation invites collaborators—local governments, schools, and corporate sponsors—to expand scheduled coastal care along the peninsula. Heroes' Day 2024 at Pengantap Beach stands as a documented example of how Lombok communities and investors can honour the past while safeguarding the natural assets that define the island’s future.

Lessons for developers and visitors

Coastal cleanups clarify responsibilities for every stakeholder. Developers can integrate waste sorting on sites, fund community bins, and train hospitality staff on plastic reduction. Visitors can choose reef-safe products, refuse single-use plastics, and patronise operators that contract local waste collectors. Schools near Sekotong can embed short modules on marine debris so children associate Heroes' Day not only with history books but with beaches they play on weekly.

From an investment perspective, documented CSR activity supports ESG narratives that international buyers increasingly expect. Transparent reporting—kilograms collected, partners involved, follow-up dates—turns a morning event into auditable impact data. That matters for family offices and funds screening Indonesian tourism assets for reputational risk as well as yield.

West Lombok Regency continues to promote Sekotong’s islands and bays to domestic and foreign travellers. Keeping Pengantap and neighbouring shores clean protects that brand. The foundation’s Heroes' Day programme shows how private capital can underwrite public-good activities without waiting for budget cycles—complementing, not replacing, government environmental services.

Anyone planning a visit to Sekotong can support these efforts by carrying out rubbish, choosing refill stations, and respecting village customs near sacred sites such as the graves honoured during the event. Small habits at scale preserve the coastline that Heroes' Day volunteers defended on 10 November 2024.

Media coverage by Jurnal Fokus on 10 November 2024 confirms the timeline, location, and police-community partnership described in this article, providing an independent local record of the Invest Islands Foundation initiative.

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