Swapping tempeh for bricks

SURABAYA, East Java: Nearly one-third of the 38,000 traditional tempeh and tofu makers in East Java have suspended their activities and taken up work as construction workers as they can no longer attain working capital.

"About 30 percent of them in the last few months have been forced to take up work as construction workers because of the difficulty in receiving capital," Benang Danungkusumo, head of the East Java branch of the Indonesian Communication Forum of Tofu and Tempeh Cooperatives, said here on Thursday.

Benang explained that the collapse of the banking sector had resulted in a drying up of credit funds for small enterprises.

The situation is compounded as only 4,000 of the 38,000 tofu and tempeh makers are members of the cooperative and eligible to receive support.

According to Benang, to support East Java cooperative members about Rp 8 billion (US$1.06 million) has to be readied each month to purchase imported soybeans, the basic ingredient for the popular Indonesian delicacy.

"We urge the government to lend a hand so banks would be willing to disperse capital," he said as quoted by Antara.