Bara Puan Cooks at Central Java Governor's Office: A Mothers' Way of Criticising Free Nutritious Meals

REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, SEMARANG – Criticising while cooking. That was the method chosen by Bara Puan, a women’s collective in Semarang, Central Java, to critique the Free Nutritious Meals (MBG) programme. Beyond highlighting the programme’s budget, they also carried a message from farmers and fishermen who feel their products have not been absorbed by President Prabowo Subianto’s priority initiative.

On Tuesday (23/6/2026) afternoon, dozens of Bara Puan members brought cooking utensils, including stoves and LPG canisters, to the front gate of the Central Java Governor’s Office. They then divided tasks, from slicing onions and chillies, chopping water spinach, cutting tempeh, to preparing cooking equipment.

‘Dapur Umum Banget: Cooking Anger’ was the name Bara Puan gave to their action. ‘This is a collective action, together with the community. The ingredients also come from the community,’ said Bara Puan representative Tata during an interview at the location.

She explained that some of the raw ingredients brought for the cooking demonstration were directly supplied by farmers and fishermen. ‘Here we have gendot chillies sent from Dieng for us. There are also clams sent from Tambakrejo (Semarang),’ she said.

Additionally, other ingredients were sent for the action, such as rice from farmers in Sumberrejo, potatoes from Dieng farmers, and fish from Batang fishermen. According to Tata, the farmers and fishermen were very enthusiastic about supporting Bara Puan’s cooking protest.

‘They entrusted us with a message that the potential possessed by the community is great, but why is it not being properly absorbed by the potential created by the state? We are talking about the MBG kitchen, which is a potential the state is trying to create, but there is no synchronisation between the community’s potential and the potential formed by the state,’ Tata said.

‘So they really hope that their clams, their rice, and other products can be utilised,’ Tata added.