December is harvest time for street vendors<\/p>\n
Israr Ardiansyah, The Jakarta Post, Yogyakarta<\/p>\n
December is always a time of happiness to paper trumpet seller
\nHaryono. Within just two hours he had already earned Rp 80,000
\n(US$7.8) from selling trumpets in Banguntapan, some six
\nkilometers east of Yogyakarta.<\/p>\n
The figure is equal to what he can earn as a farmer for two
\nweeks. And it's not even New Year's Eve yet.<\/p>\n
\"Every December I come to Yogyakarta to sell New Year
\ntrumpets,\" 30-year-old Haryono told The Jakarta Post. \"My wife
\nstays in the village to look after the rice field I had planted
\nin previous months.\"<\/p>\n
\"What else can I do as a poor farmer but earn extra cash this
\nway?\" said the farmer who comes from Wuryantoro district,
\nWonogiri, in Central Java, some 100 kilometers east of
\nYogyakarta.<\/p>\n
Haryono usually sells his trumpets in the main business area
\nof Jl. Urip Sumoharjo, one of the two busiest streets here.
\nCarrying his bamboo carrier full of handmade paper trumpets and
\ncolorful toys (weighing some 30 kilograms) never makes him feel
\ndown. He graciously accepts the fact of having to walk the five-
\nkilometer-stretch from his boarding room to his business spot
\nevery single day.<\/p>\n
He believes that hard work during these year-end festivities
\nwill reap rewards in the future.<\/p>\n
\"Last year I earned a total profit of Rp 500,000 from selling
\ntrumpets during the New Year festivities. I hope business gets
\nbetter this year.\"<\/p>\n
\"If I don't take this annual business, I won't be able to save
\nany money because I don't have any other skills.\"<\/p>\n
\"People from larger cities such as Jakarta spend more money to
\ncelebrate New Year's Eve compared to my village-fellows. That's
\nwhy I come here,\" said Haryono, who has been running the business
\nfor four years now.<\/p>\n
He sells his trumpets for Rp 1,500 each starting mid-December.
\nBecause Idul Fitri has fallen in December for two years in a row
\nnow, business has been even better for Haryono.<\/p>\n
\"The price of my trumpets usually doubles to Rp 3,000,
\nparticularly in the last two days prior to New Year's Eve. They
\nare usually sold out by the time the sun sets on Dec. 31,\" he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Good business is not only for trumpet sellers. For Wahono, a
\n47-year-old fried-chicken seller, December means business reaches
\nits peak especially in the last three years.<\/p>\n
\"For the last three years December has been a busy month for
\nme,\" said the resident of Sidoarum, some seven kilometers west of
\nYogyakarta.<\/p>\n
He has sold more than 50 chickens every day in December.<\/p>\n
\"In the last week of December I was able to sell more than 50
\nchickens a day, compared to 10 to 25 chickens in other months,\"
\nhe said.<\/p>\n
\"Of course Idul Fitri contributes much to my business. When
\nChristmas, Idul Fitri, and New Year fell closely last year, I
\nsold more than 300 fried chickens a day.\"<\/p>\n
\"Most of my customers buy chickens for their guests during
\ntheir annual end-of-year vacation to the city.\"<\/p>\n
He sells a box of whole fried chicken for Rp 25,000.<\/p>\n
Wahono's income is somewhat in contrast to his 2.5 x 2.5 meter
\nfoodstall and 2.5 x 3m kitchen in a small house in a village on
\nthe edge of Yogyakarta.<\/p>\n
Year-end festivities also affect traditional snack centers in
\nYogyakarta. Cars from big cities including Jakarta, Bandung and
\nSurabaya converge on the centers scattered along Jl. Mataram, Jl.
\nIbu Ruswo, Jl. Patuk and Jl. Gandekan Lor.<\/p>\n
Lilik Sutolo, 22, a local tourist guide living in
\nSuryotarunan, a kilometer southwest of the main business street,
\nJl. Malioboro, said that the year end means panen (harvest) for
\nhim.<\/p>\n
\"I can earn up to Rp 75,000 per day in December thanks to
\nsnack vendors who give me tips for bringing in customers.\"<\/p>\n
Lilik usually hangs around Jl. Patuk and Jl. Gandekan Lor, the
\ncenter for Bakpia (snacks made of green beans), waiting for
\ncustomers.<\/p>\n
\"I'm just accommodating people from other cities who want to
\nspend their money here.\"<\/p>",
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