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Affordable food courts benefit vendors, office workers
Political will, private sector's social responsibility and empowerment are the key factors needed to create a city that is accessible to everyone, as has been shown by the recent integration of street vendors into the city's business landscape
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olitical will, private sector's social responsibility and empowerment are the key factors needed to create a city that is accessible to everyone, as has been shown by the recent integration of street vendors into the city's business landscape.
A narrow, 500-meter long street sandwiched between the business hubs of Jl. Thamrin and Jl. Sabang in Central Jakarta exemplifies the idea.
The municipality's empowerment project to move street vendors into strategic business locations is supported by the private sector and shows that the informal sector can exist without causing problems.
More than 80 food stalls and 20 merchandise vendors have been neatly compacted into the seven-meter wide Jl. Kampung Lima. Motorists are prohibited from entering the road, creating a cozy space for employees to have an affordable lunch.
"I usually come to this place at lunchtime because there are many kinds of food that I can try," said, Eka, 28, a nearby office worker.
The Bank Syariah Mandiri (BSM) Culinary Center is located next to the Bank Mandiri branch on Jl. Thamrin and is open from Monday to Friday, from 7:30 am to 5 p.m..
Baedah, 38, a vendor of ketoprak (rice noodles and tofu in peanut sauce), said that she could earn more than Rp 320,000 (US$35.52) daily and paid a daily rental fee of Rp 20,000.
She previously sold the same food on Jl. Sabang, but moved to the culinary center, which opened last year, after the city administration prohibited street vendors from operating on Jl. Sabang from morning to late afternoon.
Ucok, 26, a pirateed-DVD vendor, said that the center was more crowded on Fridays, when hundreds of Muslims mingled with office workers after afternoon prayers to eat and shop for clothing, books, toys, gadgets and snacks.
"My sales are usually Rp 500,000, but on Friday, I can earn about Rp 700,000," Ucok said, adding that his monthly rent was Rp 250,000.
He was happy with the center because previously on Jl. Sabang he had to pay local gangsters for protection.
A Central Statistics Agency report released in February said that 35 percent of Jakarta's 4.21 million workers were employed in the informal sector in casual jobs such as sidewalk vendors.
There is a similar culinary center on Jl. Sidoarjo, Menteng, Central Jakarta and the city administration said it would add an addition center in Kota Tua, West Jakarta, later this year.
The center is a pilot project that is run in cooperation with Central Jakarta municipality, BSM culinary center facilities and infrastructures manager Jeffry Hazbullah said.
"We have studied urban layout schemes from other countries where street vendors are supported by the government and the private sector with strategic places and promotions," Jeffry told The Jakarta Post on Thursday.
He said that vendors at the culinary center also had access to BSM's sharia financing facilities that could provide funds from Rp 2 million ($220) to Rp 5 million. A monthly training on managing hygiene and providing good customer service is also provided by the city administration, he added.
Suryono Herlambang of Tarumanegara University said that it is easy to find centers that integrate street vendors with office buildings and involve municipal administrations and the private sector. The model was proven to benefit the government, private companies and street vendors in other countries, such as Singapore, he added.
"Street vendors can be trained to provide affordable, healthy and hygienic food while office workers can consuming such food that will surely have a positive impact, such as better working performance," Suryono told the Post.
He said that the administration should encourage more big companies in the city to support street vendors by providing spaces and facilities in their buildings. (rch)
