Porters spend their nights at Kramatjati market

Porters spend their nights at Kramatjati market

Text and photos by Agus Y. Ranu

JAKARTA (JP): In the dead of night, 12:50 a.m., most Jakartans
are fast asleep. In the encompassing darkness, bare light bulbs
shine on stacks of fresh fruit and vegetables. Deflected light
radiates from the fruit and vegetable skins.

A truck with East Java license plates, loaded to the brim with
mangoes, drives slowly looking for Pak Yunus' kiosk. Yunus is one
of the mango wholesalers at the Kramatjati wholesale produce
market in East Jakarta.

A number of men were running along both sides of the truck. As
soon as the truck stopped, they unloaded its contents. The mango
crates were unloaded one by one and stacked neatly in the corner
of the kiosk. The dry season's cold night wind did not stop the
sweat pouring profusely from the porters' brows. There was not
the slightest sign of fatigue on their faces. Elsewhere in the
market, a similar scene unfolded when a truck from Brebes,
Central Java, unloaded onions and red chilies.

Fruit and vegetables consumed by Jakartans come from towns
outside the capital city, aside from imports. The towns which
supply produce for Jakarta include Cipanas, Sukabumi, Garut,
Tegal, Brebes, Purwokerto, Wonosobo, Temanggung, Malang,
Probolinggo, Medan, Jambi and Palembang. Regional traders supply
fruit and vegetables to the wholesalers at the Kramatjati market.

Retailers then buy the fruit and vegetables from the
wholesalers to sell to end users at smaller markets throughout
Jakarta, or, they hawk them in residential areas.

It is intriguing to follow the progress of fruits and
vegetables, from their arrival at the Kramatjati market to their
final squeeze by Jakartan housewives.

Trucks, big and small, arrive at Kramatjati and then porters
unload the produce into kiosks or wholesalers' storage areas.

After retailers and wholesalers end their transactions, it is
the porters who get busy again. They carry and load the produce
onto vehicles used by the retailers to transport the fruit and
vegetables.

As yet, the porters cannot be replaced with sophisticated
equipment. There is admirable strength in their bodies, which do
not look all that powerful. A bag of vegetables or a crate of
fruit weighing dozens of kilograms is lifted in one movement
without a twinge. Some of the porters are capable of carrying
more than 150 kilograms. But above all, there is an even more
admirable strength emanating from their faces -- a fire kindled
by a fighting spirit in facing the realities of a hard life that
is often unfriendly to them.

There are three types of vehicles transporting fruit and
vegetables from Kramatjati to smaller markets: oplet (vans),
trucks and market buses. The oplet are hired for small cargoes
and travel short distances. For locations on a permanent route,
market buses are the cheapest choice. Medium-size trucks are
preferred for longer distances and locations outside the bus
routes.

Only four market buses are now in operation. Quite often, only
three of them are available to deliver to retailers. The buses
frequent the routes to Pondok Labu and Kebayoran Lama, South
Jakarta, Grogol and Kota, West Jakarta, and Tanjung Priok, North
Jakarta.

The buses leave their garage at Ciputat in Tangerang, West
Java, at 4 a.m. By 5:30 a.m., they are queuing at a special stop
inside the Kramatjati wholesale produce market. It takes many
hours to load the buses. At 8.30 a.m., the buses transport their
regular customers to various destinations. On regular work days,
the market buses make a maximum of two trips. On busy days, such
as prior to the Idul Fitri holiday and the year's end, they make
three or four trips.

The market buses' fares are determined by the goods
transported, while the passengers, who own the goods, travel free
of charge. A sack of vegetables weighing 100 kilograms, for
example, is charged Rp 1,500. A mid-sized crate of fruit costs Rp
1,000 and a small one Rp 500. Payments are collected before the
buses begin their routes.

It is also possible that market buses can be found at the
Kramatjati market only. They regularly serve women fruit and
vegetables retailers. The buses are old but reliable and are
capable of competing with new buses. For retailers, especially
the smaller ones, this means of transportation, in operation
since 1974, is their only choice considering their scale of
business.

The cooperation of retailers, porters and market bus operators
is beneficial for all parties. Their interdependence is a dynamic
pulse that continues to beat and to give life.