Ramadhan, the fasting month, is almost here again, and while many people are gearing up for a month of
religious contemplation, others are cashing in on the celebrations.
"I can only sell 2,000 ketupat
(rice cake) casings on a normal day, but during the Idul Fitri
celebrations, that number jumps to tens of thousands of pieces,"
27-year-old Gito, a vendor at Palmerah market in West Jakarta, told The Jakarta Post over the weekend.
Gito, who has been in the business for 10 years, said he and his
friends usually tripled their prices due to the huge rise in demand.
For Indonesians, particularly the Betawi, a steamed rice cake wrapped
in coconut leaves is part of the holiday's traditions.
Nasrudin, 45, another ketupat casing seller, agreed that the mounting demand for the casings ahead of Idul Fitri was a blessing to the market.
"I have to stock five times more than on regular days ... Usually one
family buys 100 casings for the celebrations," he said.
Gito said he worked overtime during Ramadan to keep up with the demand,
often sleeping just an hour a day. He described the season as a
"blessed moment", as he could sell 10 casings for Rp 5,000, up from the
normal price of Rp 1,500.
Mimi, a vendor at Kebayoran Lama market in South Jakarta, said the ketupat sales peak usually fell around five days before Idul Fitri, which is on Oct. 24 and 25 this year.
"Unlike Palmerah, where the vendors sell ketupat casings to smaller sellers in big amounts, we sell to individuals," he told the Post. "However, we also manage to sell tens of thousands of pieces during Ramadhan and Idul Fitri."
Nasrudin said that the seasonal vendors who worked the market only
during the holiday season did not worry him as he had also established
a side business selling coconuts.
"I believe that everyone has his or her own fortune," he said.
Flower sellers near cemeteries also experience something of a boom time
during Ramadhan and Idul Fitri, as families come to pray for their
dead.
Jaronah, 45, usually makes around Rp 2,000 a day, but at this time of year she
can see her earnings rise to Rp 400,000 per day, as more people visit
Joglo public cemetery in West Jakarta.
Cemetery spokesman Tri said that during the holidays, visitor numbers
jumped to 1,500 a day -- from around 10 to 15 people on normal days.
Although business was good, another flower seller, Jaenah, complained
that flower distributors had doubled their basic prices ahead of the
holiday.
"I spend almost Rp 1 million on my stock every day," she said, adding that it usually only cost around Rp 200,000.
Like the ketupat casing sellers, the flower vendors also face competition from seasonal workers.
"We put this matter in God's hands because we can't prohibit people
from trying to make a living. Working like this is a way to praise
Allah, too," Jaenah added.
Source : The Jakarta Post
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