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Jakarta Post

'We feel helpless and guilty': Meet those behind Indonesia’s 'solidarity economy'

With many Indonesians barely able to survive the pandemic’s economic fallout, citizen-run initiatives have become a lifeblood for many.

Vania Evan (The Jakarta Post)
Jakarta
Fri, October 8, 2021

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'We feel helpless and guilty': Meet those behind Indonesia’s 'solidarity economy' Collective effort: Peer-to-peer donation platform Teman Bantu Teman was created by writers to help writers and book-related workers to stay afloat during the pandemic. (Teman Bantu Teman) (Personal collection/Courtesy of Teman Bantu Teman)

W

ith the pandemic still ongoing, many Indonesians are coming to each other's rescue. While a few initiatives popped up after the pandemic hit the one-year mark, it only took one month of it for a group of five friends - Lody Andrian, Ivy Vania, Rheza Boge, Elham Arrazag and Andreas Tulus - to start BagiRata (roughly ‘spread evenly’), a non-profit organization aimed at helping Indonesians survive the pandemic.

To date, the self-described “peer-to-peer wealth distribution tool” has distributed around Rp 1.4 billion (US$98,000) to help 4,080 workers all over the country. This latest data was published through BagiRata's Instagram account on Sep. 24.

Users on the website can register as either a donator or as someone who will receive funding. Its key function is to connect those two parties, before leaving it to both to organise how their relationship and transfer of funding would work.

BagiRata is based on its founders’ drive to help others; it is by no means something they do to make money. Lody, Rheza, Elham and Andreas have full time jobs, while Ivy is a mixologist whose working day starts in the afternoon.

With that in mind, they designed a direct-transfer system, so the wealth distribution continues without them having to man the board 24-7. Donors can directly send the funds to beneficiaries through their e-wallet without sending the money to a centralized bank account.

"Early on, we thought that if [BagiRata] takes too much of our time, there's no chance that it would be sustainable. So we tried to make a system that doesn't involve a hands-on approach," said Lody, 29, to The Jakarta Post.

Emotional toll

"All the work can be done with our laptops and internet connection, thankfully. It's not like we need to scour the street to distribute the help. We can still finish our [office] work," Lody said. He starts his day working as a design consultant from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. then, after a quick breather, he begins working on BagiRata at 9 p.m.

While work-time management is something the founders’ have been able to manage, this does not mean that BagiRata has not been a personal challenge.

What the founders did not see coming was the continuous task of replying to inquiries as promptly as possible.

"People have questions, with most coming from beneficiaries. The most frequently asked questions are how to register, why they haven't been verified and also why their accounts haven't received any funds yet. Some reach out to our Instagram, Twitter or even through phone calls. There were days when I was called during working hours to listen to people tell their life stories," said Lody. He considers handling questions and complaints as the most “painful” part of the work.

Surrogate social worker: Lody Andrian, 29, built the peer-to-peer wealth redistribution platform BagiRata with four friends. Per Sep. 2021, the platform has amassed Rp 1.4 billion (US$98,000) distributed to 4,080 workers. (Courtesy of Lody Andrian)
Surrogate social worker: Lody Andrian, 29, built the peer-to-peer wealth redistribution platform BagiRata with four friends. Per Sep. 2021, the platform has amassed Rp 1.4 billion (US$98,000) distributed to 4,080 workers. (Courtesy of Lody Andrian) (Personal collection/Courtesy of Lody Andrian)

Being endlessly exposed to the hardships of many takes its toll on the founders. "We feel helpless, that we can't do much. There's also a pang of guilt in our chests that comes out of pity and out of our incapability to make their lives any better," he said. This feeling of not being able to help many makes it even more difficult for the founders to keep their heads straight.

A system has been established at BagiRata – they can only verify workers or SMEs to receive the funds. This means there are some parties who the initiative is not able to help, such as housewives, private tutors or small-time actors.

Shared passion

Another peer-to-peer donation platform Teman Bantu Teman (Friends Helping Friends) was initiated by writers to help fellow writers and book-related workers. The platform was established on Aug. 8, and has amassed almost Rp 200 million to date.

One of Teman Bantu Teman's organizers, Mutia Sukma, feels the same way as Lody in terms of the mental toll it takes. As the Yogyakarta-based poet put it, "When people ask for help, they tell you their story. Imagine reading stories of struggle every single day - you will eventually get invested in everyone’s stories."

Mutia feels especially helpless when non-writers or non-book-related workers, who are not part of their scheme, ask for help. "It is a commitment that we have promised to the donors [to help only those working in the literary world], and we can't just betray their trust regardless of how much we want to help everyone," the 33-year-old told the Post.

Every profession comes with its own battle, but writers and book-related workers are battling a long-standing, overlooked problem that is book piracy.

Remain hopeful: Poet Mutia Sukma is one of the founders of Teman Bantu Teman. (Mutia Sukma)
Remain hopeful: Poet Mutia Sukma is one of the founders of Teman Bantu Teman. (Mutia Sukma) (Personal collection/Courtesy of Personal collection)

Mutia said, "Even before the pandemic, writers and industry workers were already vulnerable. The work is relatively unlucrative, aggravated by the small portion of royalties we are entitled to. But when there is a high demand for our book, the pirated versions start mushrooming."

Despite the unfavorable nature of the work, writers usually keep writing out of their pure love for the act of writing. Mutia said it was this exact reason why the 25 people behind Teman Bantu Teman were still pushing through. She said, "This social work is hard, but we keep going because we love literature and all the dynamics formed within. It’s as simple as that."

Besides running Teman Bantu Teman, Mutia also juggles between her time as an independent bookstore owner and publishing house in Yogyakarta.

Growth

When the pandemic passes, will these solidarity-based initiatives continue?

Lody believed that BagiRata would be shut down as a platform, but not as a movement. "All this time, we’ve only played the part of the enabler. But this platform with its autopilot system can be utilized by the public so that they can create their own BagiRata to help each other," he said.

Lody said that BagiRata did want to scale up, but this desire had always been hindered by multiple technical and legal reasons.

Lody regretted that while BagiRata was acknowledged by the government, they had not offered any tangible assistance.

"I wouldn't mind if they wanted to replicate the system, I wouldn't mind handing this over to them. But they reached out to us only for celebratory purposes, which is such a letdown."

As for Teman Bantu Teman, Mutia and the team imagined a hopeful ending. "We hope that this platform won't be here for long. Not because we run out of the resources, manpower or drive, but because writers and book workers will already be in a better place.”

 

 

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