Street tailors offer cheap, speedy services<\/p>\n
By Multa Fidrus<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): If you have just bought a brand new dress or
\nshirt, only to find that it is a bit too long or too tight, don't
\nworry -- you can have it fixed within minutes at a very low price
\nif you take it to the Prumpung area in Jatinegara, East Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Of course, that is only if you don't mind braving the heat and
\nthe vehicle pollution.<\/p>\n
As the city administration has not yet provided a permanent
\nsite to accommodate them, some 50 tailors are scattered around an
\narea stretching from the Jatinegara railway station to the
\nPrumpung flyover. Some tailors occupy the sidewalk, some the
\npark, while others even run their business on sections of the
\nroad.<\/p>\n
This situation not only looks bad, but also exposes both the
\ntailors and their customers to the thick black smoke of passing
\nvehicles.<\/p>\n
Idol Parwita, 43, one of the street tailors working on the
\nroad told The Jakarta Post he has to commute from Bogor to the
\nsite every day and serves his customers with a very old sewing
\nmachine.<\/p>\n
He admitted that the location was hazardous to his health and
\nsafety.<\/p>\n
\"If the city administration built a location dedicated to
\naccommodating street tailors around this area, we would not be
\nspread out like this,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Idol worked for several textile manufactures in the capital
\nbefore resigning in the early 1970s to become a tailor.<\/p>\n
He has run his business in the same spot since he became a
\nstreet tailor in 1974.<\/p>\n
He related how, in the 1980s, public order officers frequently
\nconducted raids, causing him to lose two sewing machines, which
\nwere never returned.<\/p>\n
\"Thank God, the city's public order officers no longer raid
\nstreet tailors and confiscate our sewing machines,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Idol is quite happy being a street tailor. Earning between Rp
\n30,000 and Rp 50,000 a day, he is able to meet his family's
\nneeds, including sending his three children to school. In the
\nthird week of the fasting month of Ramadhan, when the Idul Fitri
\nholiday draws near, his daily income can double to as much as Rp
\n100,000.<\/p>\n
\"I can no longer do other kinds of work as I am getting older.
\nI have decided to stick to this job until the end of my life
\nbecause this job is relaxing,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He said that a street tailor usually charges a customer Rp
\n3,000 for shortening a pair of trousers, Rp 5,000 for tightening
\nor loosening and Rp 10,000 for more complicated work.<\/p>\n
Another street tailor, Zamhuri, 36, a resident in Cipinang
\nBesar Utara, starts working at 8 a.m. and finishes at 6 p.m..<\/p>\n
He said his customers come from as far away as Bekasi,
\nCiputat, Depok and Bogor. On average, he earns Rp 30,000 a day.<\/p>\n
He frequently receives orders from hotels in the Jatinegara
\narea to make curtains, bed covers, pillow slips and other items.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Mustanto, 19, a resident of Pasar Ciplak in East
\nJakarta, who had Idol mend his denim jeans, said he visited the
\narea upon the recommendation of a friend who was satisfied with
\nthe quality of work.<\/p>\n
\"That's why I wanted to try here. In addition to the cheap
\nprice, I can wait until my jeans are finished,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Similarly, Acih, 53, a resident of Kelapa Gading, East
\nJakarta, who was waiting for Zamhuri to complete his bed covers
\nand pillow slips, said he had enjoyed the service of street
\ntailors since the early 1980s.<\/p>\n
He said he was reluctant to go to \"formal\" tailors.<\/p>\n
\"Street tailors offer much quicker service and cheaper rates
\nthan formal tailors,\" said the father of four children who runs a
\nmotorcycle repair shop in Rawamangun, East Jakarta.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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