December is harvest time for street vendors
Israr Ardiansyah, The Jakarta Post, Yogyakarta
December is always a time of happiness to paper trumpet seller Haryono. Within just two hours he had already earned Rp 80,000 (US$7.8) from selling trumpets in Banguntapan, some six kilometers east of Yogyakarta.
The figure is equal to what he can earn as a farmer for two weeks. And it's not even New Year's Eve yet.
"Every December I come to Yogyakarta to sell New Year trumpets," 30-year-old Haryono told The Jakarta Post. "My wife stays in the village to look after the rice field I had planted in previous months."
"What else can I do as a poor farmer but earn extra cash this way?" said the farmer who comes from Wuryantoro district, Wonogiri, in Central Java, some 100 kilometers east of Yogyakarta.
Haryono usually sells his trumpets in the main business area of Jl. Urip Sumoharjo, one of the two busiest streets here. Carrying his bamboo carrier full of handmade paper trumpets and colorful toys (weighing some 30 kilograms) never makes him feel down. He graciously accepts the fact of having to walk the five- kilometer-stretch from his boarding room to his business spot every single day.
He believes that hard work during these year-end festivities will reap rewards in the future.
"Last year I earned a total profit of Rp 500,000 from selling trumpets during the New Year festivities. I hope business gets better this year."
"If I don't take this annual business, I won't be able to save any money because I don't have any other skills."
"People from larger cities such as Jakarta spend more money to celebrate New Year's Eve compared to my village-fellows. That's why I come here," said Haryono, who has been running the business for four years now.
He sells his trumpets for Rp 1,500 each starting mid-December. Because Idul Fitri has fallen in December for two years in a row now, business has been even better for Haryono.
"The price of my trumpets usually doubles to Rp 3,000, particularly in the last two days prior to New Year's Eve. They are usually sold out by the time the sun sets on Dec. 31," he said.
Good business is not only for trumpet sellers. For Wahono, a 47-year-old fried-chicken seller, December means business reaches its peak especially in the last three years.
"For the last three years December has been a busy month for me," said the resident of Sidoarum, some seven kilometers west of Yogyakarta.
He has sold more than 50 chickens every day in December.
"In the last week of December I was able to sell more than 50 chickens a day, compared to 10 to 25 chickens in other months," he said.
"Of course Idul Fitri contributes much to my business. When Christmas, Idul Fitri, and New Year fell closely last year, I sold more than 300 fried chickens a day."
"Most of my customers buy chickens for their guests during their annual end-of-year vacation to the city."
He sells a box of whole fried chicken for Rp 25,000.
Wahono's income is somewhat in contrast to his 2.5 x 2.5 meter foodstall and 2.5 x 3m kitchen in a small house in a village on the edge of Yogyakarta.
Year-end festivities also affect traditional snack centers in Yogyakarta. Cars from big cities including Jakarta, Bandung and Surabaya converge on the centers scattered along Jl. Mataram, Jl. Ibu Ruswo, Jl. Patuk and Jl. Gandekan Lor.
Lilik Sutolo, 22, a local tourist guide living in Suryotarunan, a kilometer southwest of the main business street, Jl. Malioboro, said that the year end means panen (harvest) for him.
"I can earn up to Rp 75,000 per day in December thanks to snack vendors who give me tips for bringing in customers."
Lilik usually hangs around Jl. Patuk and Jl. Gandekan Lor, the center for Bakpia (snacks made of green beans), waiting for customers.
"I'm just accommodating people from other cities who want to spend their money here."