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riginally starting as an online forum created by a friendship group of blind high school students, Kartunet has grown into a flourishing online blind community and a leading organization for the provision of free online courses for people who are blind.

At the age of 17, Dimas Prasetyo taught himself how to create websites through endless online readings and research. Every day after school, he would listen to and learn from online audio books, which eventually led him and his friends to launch Kartunet, the first website in Indonesia created by people who are blind.

Initially, Dimas’ website acted as an online forum for the blind community to share creative writing and opinion pieces, as well as discuss the news. Since creating the website 12 years ago, Dimas has effectively grown the online community of Kartunet while also pursuing a successful career as a online marketer and blogger.

Prior to gaining access to a computer, Dimas explained that he would read braille books, which were often limited in subject matter, expensive and time consuming.

“Technology has been a huge revolution for the blind community. The internet has enabled me to have infinite access to understanding and engaging with the world around me and become an active member of the workforce,” Dimas told The Jakarta Post.

Now, Dimas has tapped into the active online community on his website to created Kartunet office space, an environment for this community to regularly meet in person. Kartunet has also developed into an organization led by Dimas and three other colleagues who are blind that provides inclusive and free online marketing, content writing and business training, and has grown into a community of over 800 blind members.

Unemployment and underemployment are persistent issues for the blind community and Kartunet is one organization that is helping to combat this issue.

“Kartunet provided me incredible networking opportunities and the skills I needed to start and grow my own online business,” said Achmad Yudha, a former Kartunet marketing student. After undertaking the intensive course, Achmad created his own online business and became heavily involved in online advertising.

“I feel as though people are learning not to pity me because they now realize that I too have the skills to be a highly valued and effective member of the workforce,” Achmad added.

“It is time to change the paradigm of how we view people with disabilities in the workforce,” said Alberty Bonasahat, the national program officer of Better Work Indonesia, an NGO that aims at increasing the employability of people with disabilities.

To increase access to job opportunities for people with disabilities, employers must focus on the skills and abilities people possess, rather than fixating on their disabilities, he argued.

Inclusive skill development programs, such as Kartunet’s, are an effective method in enabling people with disabilities to enter the workforce, by focussing on and further developing the valuable skills and abilities they possess, he added

Jan. 24th marked the 12th Anniversary of Kartunet and the launch of its new online marketing course titled I’M BRAVE, which stands for Internet Marketing — because everyone is able and creative. This three-month intensive course, commencing in late February, will provide free internet marketing training to 150 people who are blind in Jakarta. The students will be taught through a combination of audio tutorials, live streamed question & answer sessions and online audio readings, led by Ikhwan and Dimas, successful online marketers who are blind.

Dimas expressed hope that in the future, a growing number of people who are blind will be able to access computers and the internet, as doing so unlocks a world of education and job opportunities. “With technology, we can do anything,” he said with excitement.

— Clare McBride-Kelly is an intern at The Jakarta Post