Identifying Opportunities: PNM Mekaar Customer Transforms Market Waste into Multi-Million Rupiah Business
The Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 upended the life of Zulhaida Sitanglag. As a teacher, she experienced significant wage cuts due to the instability of her school at the time. This pressure led her to a difficult decision: to resign from teaching and find ways to survive from home.
The path was not immediately smooth. Her initial venture, selling plants online, withered before it could truly flourish. However, a turning point arrived from an unexpected source: an alumni community that was collecting second-hand items to distribute as aid to those affected by the pandemic.
Looking at piles of cracked glasses and plates that were no longer saleable, Zulhaida saw an opportunity that others had overlooked. She decorated them with fabric scraps and sold them online, donating a portion of the proceeds back to charitable activities.
Her first two decorated glasses sold immediately for one hundred thousand rupiah, a small beginning that ignited her curiosity regarding other materials. This led her to corn husk floral arrangements, which she discovered while visiting a relative’s home.
Zulhaida taught herself through video tutorials, while processing discarded corn husks that she collected personally from traditional market rubbish bins. Her first attempts were far from perfect, but a single social media post attracted enough interest from buyers to pave the way for her business.
The attention of a senior artisan became a crucial next step. This mentor guided Zulhaida in improving her processing techniques to ensure the crafts were more durable and resistant to mould. Her business, subsequently named Aida Craft, gained recognition through wedding and birthday invitations, where Zulhaida used her floral arrangements as both gifts and promotional tools, eventually attracting coverage from several local media outlets.
Zulhaida nearly gave up when her work was belittled at several exhibitions and she faced ridicule for selling products made from waste, despite her background as a university graduate and former teacher. However, her perseverance led her to join the Indonesian Handicraft Exporters Association, participate in a three-month MSME development programme, and eventually achieve BNSP certification as a handicraft trainer.