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."