Slimmer pickings this Ramadhan

Slimmer pickings this Ramadhan

By Stevie Emilia

JAKARTA (JP): It's a tradition for Muslims to break their fast
at dusk with sweet drinks or snacks before getting into their
main meals.

The appetizers include kolak (sweet compote stewed in coconut
milk and brown sugar), cendol (glutinous rice balls stewed in
coconut milk and brown sugar), dates, serabi (sweetened rice
cake), klepon (glutinous rice balls filled with brown sugar) and
lupis (glutinous rice cakes covered with brown sugar).

But these days, only a lucky few can afford these appetizers,
due to the climbing prices of the ingredients.

Ida, a mother of two, is one of the many poor people who have
to skip the tradition in this year's Ramadhan. Still, she feels
something is missing.

In the past, she was always busy preparing food and snacks to
break the fast for the entire family, including her sisters-in-
law living with the family.

"This is the first Ramadhan when I can't afford to make kolak
and other things to break the fast... Now, my family goes
straight to the main meal," the 30-year-old woman said.

But there's nothing she can do about it.

"Everything is very expensive and we don't have enough money,"
said Ida, a native of Padang, West Sumatra, living in the Blok A
area, South Jakarta.

She reckoned that she would need around Rp 5,000 to buy the
brown sugar, bananas and coconut just to prepare kolak pisang for
the family for one day.

Previously, she had no problems serving special foods for her
family, as the Ramadhan used to be a very busy month for her
husband, who works as a tailor in Blok M, South Jakarta. During
this time, many people would come to have new clothes made for
the Idul Fitri celebrations, meaning more income for Ida's
family.

"Last year, my husband still had lots of orders. But this
year, my husband did not earn as much... maybe because people
nowadays can no longer afford new clothes," Ida said.

And there are times now, she said, when her husband comes home
empty handed.

Her daily expenses now depend on her savings and the extra
money she can keep from her husband's earnings.

"Now my family have to be satisfied with anything that I can
put on the table," said Ida, who said that tempeh and tofu were
now the family's staple foods.

Sometimes, she said, she could not help feeling sad for her
children: "My children love fried chicken, but it's impossible to
buy it. Now, were lucky when I can serve eggs," Ida said.

Chickens are now sold for around Rp 14,000 each, while a
kilogram of eggs cost Rp 8,000.

Another housewife, Wahyuni, managed to serve sweet snacks and
drinks for her family during the first week of this year's
Ramadhan. But instead of making them herself, she bought them at
the market for Rp 2,000, and shared the food out for the entire
family of four.

At first, she said, her husband, who earns Rp 350,000 per
month, complained about her decision. But when she told him about
the unreasonably high prices for the ingredients, he could
understand.

"Now, I can't serve kolak anymore as prices are already
impossible," Wahyuni said while shopping at the Bendungan Hilir
market.

Every year in the few days before the Idul Fitri celebrations,
food prices, especially for meat and chicken, double, leaving
customers without much choice.

Fortune

Some food vendors see the tradition of Ramadhan as the time to
make their fortunes. Traders can be seen well before dusk in
markets and along some of the city's streets.

Competition is stiff among the sellers, mostly women, as most
snacks on offer are identical from one stall to another.

In some stalls, the sweet drinks are packed individually in
small plastic bags, selling for around Rp 1,000 each, while
snacks are sold for Rp 500 each. When dusk falls, most of the
food stalls are usually crowded with customers.

Imah, a 48-year-old snack seller in Bendungan Hilir market,
said that this year business was very much slower compared to
last year's Ramadhan.

She said that in the past, she could make at least Rp 100,000
profit in a day, and snacks were usually sold out.

These days her daily profit reaches Rp 50,000 at the most.
"But that's not often," said Imah, who buys all her snacks at the
Senen market in Central Jakarta.

Imah blames the reduced income on high prices.

If people have to choose between main meals and snacks, most
will take the first choice. Although less people are buying the
sweet drinks and snacks, food stalls selling main meals still
enjoy good business.

Slamet, a sidewalk food vendor offering nasi rames, steamed
rice and side dishes outside the Bendungan Hilir market, claims
that more people pack his small kiosk in the evening to break
their fast than before.

He said he managed to lure more customers to his kiosk after
examining his customers' habits over many months.

"I have found that many of my customers can no longer afford
to buy dishes like chicken, meat, or even eggs. So I prepare more
food made of tempeh, tofu and noodles," Slamet said.