Musical 'andong' keeps children smiling

Musical 'andong' keeps children smiling

Evi Mariani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Although the rapid development in the city has taken away what
little space was left for children to play in, some small
entrepreneurs have taken advantage of the situation by putting
the smile back on children's faces.

Brightly decorated carts full of children -- some are pulled
while others look like an over-sized wheelbarrow on a bicycle --
playing non-stop children's songs as they wheel around, have
become a common sight in the kampongs.

"Children here love the andong. They wait for the andong to
pass their house and hop into it along with a whole bunch of
children," said Sono, a resident of Karet Kuningan, Central
Jakarta.

His wife, Yanti, said the andong usually takes eight trips
around the kampong.

"My neighbor there," Yanti said, pointing at her neighbor's
house, "is sometimes busy cooking dinner for the family, so she
puts the children in the andong for two or three rounds until she
finishes her chores."

The andong, in some parts of the city also known as odong-
odong, can accommodate 10 to 15 small children. Each child has to
pay Rp 500 (6 US cents) for one round of about one kilometer. For
the kampongs in Jakarta this kind of entertainment has been
around for no more than five years.

Another andong owner in Muara Angke, North Jakarta, said he
could earn up to Rp 75,000 a day.

"I earn more money if my neighbors need some odd jobs done,
but actually my family's main income comes from the andong ...
which is enough for us," said Hanafi, a father of three.

Hanafi bought parts of the andong from Cirebon, West Java, for
Rp 1.5 million, built it in Jakarta, and added a colorful
gigantic head of a bird made of half-centimeter-thick styrofoam.

For that price he was able to build a two-wheeled cart with a
bicycle attached to the back of the cart, three benches inside
the cart, a loud-speaker, a tape player, and a battery.

"But if you buy an andong in a good condition, with pretty
decorations and all, the price can reach Rp 3.5 million."

Locals in Muara Angke said there were andong decorated with a
dragon's head and a rooster's head. Such andong were not produced
in Jakarta, but bought from craftsmen in Indramayu or Cirebon,
West Java, they added.

"Almost all the parents here know my face, some of them know
me personally, so they trust me with their children to go around
in the kampung," said Hanafi.

He added that sometimes worried parents waited for their
children and his andong at a regular spot.

"The route is only one kilometer around the kampung, forming a
full circle, and taking only about 15 minutes until the andong
comes back to a house. Besides there's only one driver who
controls this route," said Sono.

"Sometimes there are children who do not hop off the andong
when they reach their houses or the driver forgets the children's
houses, so he will just drive around until the parents come out
to look for their children," Sono added. "Of course, the driver
would probably charge more."