The Spirit of A.N.D.
in the Third World

The Revolutionary Work of Antonio Ismael Risianto
Antonio co-founded A.N.D. in the 70s. As the agency grew more mature in the 80s, Antonio quickly finished his studies at Berkeley & MIT and left the country to work with community groups in Southeast Asia.

Such international spirit is not uncommon among idealistic youths of the 60s and 70s. It was after all an age of social upheaval in Third World countries; an age where a large part of our global communities were still struggling for basic human needs - like food, shelter, and peace - while the so-called "advanced" nations were dropping 'napalm' and 'agent orange' in a seemingly endless war of domination; an age that had witnessed the "fighting back" of minority groups for their simple rights as human beings in a country that had espoused "democracy and freedom"; an age where the minorities who made it through top universities were "returning home" to their deprived communities, barrios, or ghettos; an age of change in social philosophy - a change that had embraced the independent multitudes of 'smallness' as opposed to the giant agglomeration that had left behind nothing but an unbalanced eco-development. In these changing times we saw the emerging role of the community-organizer.

In the Third World, a community-organizer is typically an independent agent with a mission to empower disadvantage community groups so that they could cope with the surge of global capital without having to lose their means of livelihood or their land and family.

Some organizers are part of NGOs (Non-Governmental Organizations), but some are concerned citizens and professionals - like Mohandas K. Gandhi (lawyer) - who simply want to lend their hands.

With a professional background as an architect-builder, Antonio brings with him to Southeast Asia a set of practical knowledge not unlike the visionary 'Barefoot Doctors' who worked and lived with the peasants in villages. Although his work spreads over a large regional area - ranging from Borneo to Bangkok - his means and methods were always based on the use of 'appropriate' local technologies.

In the early 80s, Antonio worked with migrant workers who lived in the slum of Samarinda (East Borneo, Indonesia). The main work there was first to secure land rights for the residents so that they could continue to live and work in the area. Most of the residents worked as street peddlers. Antonio and his team (Triaco & Associates) introduced architecture as a catalyst to create new spaces for jobs and families. 200 vendor stalls were provided for the residents so that they could open micro-businesses right from their home. 141 permanent shop houses were built around the site for larger type of businesses. The new site also included recreational facilities for the residents. The project was then selected as the winner of the Aga Khan International Award in 1989 and according to the jury:

"This social, economic and design
accomplishment has been
achieved through private and
community involvement, without
financial or technical assistance
from the government or foreign
donors.... the whole process has been
a democratic one, culminating
in the establishment of
a management board representing
through a co-operative, the interests
of the peddlers, the shop keepers,
the local government and the
consultants."

The most important thing
according to Antonio is that
"Citra Niaga became a living
monument and a new urban
space that can attract its
people, the youth, the old and
all factions of the community to
come to enjoy. "

Such inclusive urban space
also gives back to the "host"
culture of the indigenous
population in East Borneo who
had been "left out" and were
dominated by the
overwhelming migration of
external population.

After the Tsunami hit Southeast Asia in 2004, Antonio moved to Aceh (near the epicenter of the earthquake) to organize communities in the most affected area. Participatory planning was initiated to ensure that their concerns were met. It was a bottom up approach, and the resulting recovery was quick. A large number of students and volunteers were mobilized through the "Barefoot Architects" program.

' Barefoot Architects' was conceived by Antonio as an organization that stresses learning
by doing. Unlike conventional architectural institutes, 'Barefoot' students do not sketch abstract
concepts on napkins and pass it to the contractors to build, but were themselves participants in the initial
planning and construction process.

The students are typically placed at community organizations and NGOs that are in need of technical assistance in the field of architecture and construction. Their most recent work was in helping communities that were affected by the
Bali Peduli Yogya Earthquake in 2006 . The volunteers collected and dispatched medical supplies, food, and clothing to Yogya. They also set up tents, temporary clinics, schools, communal kitchens, and construction centers.

Despite being on a different side of the globe, one finds an interesting parallel between some of Antonio's work in Southeast Asia and the recent work of A.N.D. Although situated in the supposed First World, A.N.D.
recent projects have faced similar problems that are found in Third World countries.

Unfortunately there are many formalities and regulatory measures in the US that prevent many informal yet potentially 'appropriate' solutions from being materialized. Street vendors, for instance, are not allowed in cities. On top of that, creative reuse of older buildings is limited by zoning, codes, and financing. An extreme case of such formalities could be seen in New Orleans where people were prevented by the government from returning to their own homes after the arrival of Hurricane Katrina. Troops were sent (some came directly from Iraq) to guard the city and to arrest people who have committed the crime of returning to their homes.

From this standpoint, perhaps the fragile nation-state
of the Third World and its informalities may actually
help provide more maneuverable space for
the community organizer than the corporate structure
of America. It is however not surprising given that apart
from a few urbanite social think-tanks,
most community organizers had opted for the 'countryside'
where there is more maneuverable opportunity

In today's world of global capital, there is no question
that the 'countryside' is indeed the Third World.
The only remaining question is how one is going link
community network in the Third World to one in the First?
With the advent of new internet/wireless technologies
and the instant flow of information, an age of
global community networks may have already emerged
as an undercurrent to the mainstream global capitalism.
Along with this new force is an unchanging Spirit of A.N.D.