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Rajut Kejut gives 'bemo', public spaces new look
New face: A bemo (three-wheeled motorized vehicle) gets a new face with colorful and patterned yarn crocheted by Jakarta-based knitting community Rajut Kejut (Shock Knitting)
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New face: A bemo (three-wheeled motorized vehicle) gets a new face with colorful and patterned yarn crocheted by Jakarta-based knitting community Rajut Kejut (Shock Knitting). The creation of the cover began in June and was finished on Aug. 15, the day it was put on the bemo. (JP/FOY) (three-wheeled motorized vehicle) gets a new face with colorful and patterned yarn crocheted by Jakarta-based knitting community Rajut Kejut (Shock Knitting). The creation of the cover began in June and was finished on Aug. 15, the day it was put on the bemo. (JP/FOY)
New face: A bemo (three-wheeled motorized vehicle) gets a new face with colorful and patterned yarn crocheted by Jakarta-based knitting community Rajut Kejut (Shock Knitting). The creation of the cover began in June and was finished on Aug. 15, the day it was put on the bemo. (JP/FOY)
It was the usual scorching Saturday in Jakarta, seven bemo (three-wheeled vehicle) lined up at the side of a bridge next to Karet Station in Central Jakarta, but one particular bemo in the middle of the line definitely stood out.
The bemo was covered in a brightly colored and patterned knitted cover, which was cute enough to attract little Rona, 7, and persuade her mother to take the bemo even though there were several other bemo ahead of it in the line.
'This bemo is unique, so we chose to board it although it wasn't its turn,' Rona's mother, Endah, said.
The bemo got its cover on Aug. 15 during a car-free day in Sarinah, Central Jakarta, from the Jakarta-based knitting community Rajut Kejut (Shock Knitting), comprising women, aged between 20 and 70, who share a common interest in knitting.
They started knitting the cover for the bemo in June, amid their daily activities, and were able to finish the project in less than two months.
Each of them knitted several 40-square-centimeter patches in various patterns so that on the final day they only needed to combine their knitting until it was enough to cover a bemo.
The idea to cover a bemo came after noticing that the noisy, gasoline-fueled vehicles were declining in popularity, despite still being useful for short trips.
'A bemo is cute looking and very useful for transporting people to their offices in Karet or Sudirman. Unfortunately, they are illegal,' Ati, a senior member of Rajut Kejut, told The Jakarta Post.
'We intentionally made it [the bemo cover] eye-catching so that the administration could reconsider their status.'
Covering a bemo was the community's fifth big project. On last year's Independence Day, they made covers for two park benches in front of the National Museum in Central Jakarta, followed by covering two others at the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle.
In October 2014, right after President Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo's inauguration, the community covered a tree in front of the State Palace. 'But the knitted cover disappeared 10 days later. I don't know why,' Ati said.
To celebrate Valentine's Day, the community gathered to knit a giant heart-shaped carpet, which they laid across a crossing bridge in Thamrin, Central Jakarta, during a car-free day in February.
Around the world, this form of street art, known as yarn bombing has been attributed to a Texan knitter Magda Sayeg, and has become popular over the past few years.
The Rajut Kejut community itself was established only last year by four close friends Ati, Rini, Tata and Wutie. Since then, the number of members on the Rajut Kejut Facebook page has increased.
'Anybody can become a member just by following the web page. We've got dozens of members from Greater Jakarta, but most of them just come and go. Only 20 are counted as active members,' Ati said, adding that the members were mostly housewives or those who worked at home, like owners of online shops selling knitted accessories. Several of them are yarn entrepreneurs.
The community, she said, held a gathering once a week. 'Although only five to 10 members regularly show up,' she added.
For Ati and other Rajut Kejut members, the skills of knitting are not too difficult to learn as they have become hooked on the hobby.
'Knitting teaches us about patience, diligence and consistency, as we have to fight against the 'instant culture',' Ati said.
Ati said around 30 members came to her house, the community's base camp in Penjernihan, Central Jakarta, if they had a big project, such as making the bemo cover.
'We prefer to decorate public property rather than making women's stuff, such as bags, wallets and other accessories,' Ati said.
Next, the community plans to arrange more big projects, including decorating public parks and making clothing to cover the Jenderal Sudirman statue in Sudirman and Tani monument in Kwitang, Central Jakarta.
'We only intend to beautify public property, so that people can enjoy it more comfortably. Unfortunately, it will be difficult to get permits from the administration,' Ati said. (foy)
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