A Mother's Efforts to Provide Eid Clothes for Children Amid Flood Aftermath
Central Tapanuli (ANTARA) — The smell of floodwater mud that reached the courtyard of Sri Kasnita Tambunan’s home in Bona Lumban Village, Tukka District, has been replaced by the aroma of melting butter and caramelised sugar.
Amid lingering concerns about potential follow-up flooding, Sri Kasnita finds the courage and determination to continue struggling to earn money by making Eid cakes, which have long been her annual source of income.
Her courage to reopen orders for dried cakes stems from a single motivation. She acknowledges that her efforts are solely to purchase new Eid clothes for her two children and to replace family assets that were swept away by the recent flash flood from the overflowing Tukka River, which lies not far from her home.
“Because my husband’s income has halted and we haven’t managed to buy Eid clothes, especially for the children. Regardless, we want to buy our children new clothes for Eid,” said Sri Kasnita during Ramadhan, her eyes glistening as she described her struggle to survive after the disaster.
As a mother facing difficult circumstances and managing her household, Sri has two children and elderly parents to support whilst assisting her husband’s struggling income from casual work. Her husband is a refrigeration technician for a soft drink company. The flood has left him with no alternative income.
Consequently, Sri has gathered the courage to accept orders from their regular customers who purchase dried cakes from her each year. Sri is experienced in producing dried cakes such as chocho chips, nastar, kembang goyang and coconut root, which are her signature products.
Unlike previous years, orders this year must be limited in quantity. This is because anxiety over disaster warnings continues to weigh on her mind. Fearing follow-up flooding, Sri has had to restrict customer orders.
“There are many orders this year, but I’m reducing the numbers because of the weather. When it becomes overcast and rainy, I can’t bake because I have to pack my belongings in case another flood comes,” she said.
In reality, Sri’s dried cake business is not a large operation. She uses only her home kitchen and one medium-sized oven. However, every Eid season, she receives orders reaching hundreds of containers.