The women of Jungsari hamlet would probably answer “Get active in cooperatives!” since most of them are active members of their local Independent Work Cooperative (Kokama).

“Fifty percent have left [for work]... Most sell meatballs, noodles, jamu [traditional herbal remedies] or do other jobs to provide their families with an income,” hamlet chief Juli Rohmadi says when asked where the men have gone.

Once in awhile the breadwinners return home to Jungsari, which is situated in Karang Anyar, Central Java, to share their earnings. But sometimes they don’t come home because they haven’t earned anything, and their wives must work out how to make ends meet on their own.

Kokama secretary Sri Tri Rahayu explains how the cooperative was formed. “[In 2005] several women were invited by the local education agency to take part in an extracurricular education program to improve their skills in managing the resources at hand.”

“This was aimed at giving women something to do outside the house, while utilizing local resources. If goods are sold directly, profits are minimal, but if the same produce is turned into crackers it generates bigger profits.”

At least 65 women from six hamlets in three subdistricts took part in the training program. On completion of the program, each received business capital, which they decided to pool.

“It was better for us to work together because it meant we could help our friends. A cooperative meant we had a coordinating institution to find work partners. On our own it is difficult for us because we have to do everything ourselves,” Sri says.

The Rp 13 million (US$1,450) that they collected was thus used to establish a savings and loan cooperative, which they call Kokama. Skilled members of the community were immediately able to use this facility to borrow capital to produce jamu, mpon-mpon (a basic ingredient of jamu), tempeh, fried peanuts, cassava chips and other goods.

The managers of this cooperative sacrifice their time and energy to manage the enterprises of all of its members, spread across six hamlets in three subdistricts within a 23-kilometer radius. Despite having a limited transportation budget, the cooperative managers continue to go from house to house to provide mentoring for their members. This spirit of togetherness is what makes this cooperative special.

Surabaya University community empowerment expert Cahyo Suryanto comments on the communality of the cooperative: “These women have followed the Javanese philosophy kalah cacak, menang sanak, which means lose a little to protect your friends.” Cahyo is amazed at the women’s motivation, adding that this is what has made them flourish.

The cooperative leaders hold meetings every month and every six months they meet with all the members. Through these meetings, the members make decisions, discuss problems such as bad credit and find solutions to those problems. The cooperative’s bad debts only amount to 0.04 percent of the money it lends to members because most of the women are diligent in repaying their loans.

Everything is discussed openly during meetings, including annual profits, which have now reached Rp 54 million. This money is constantly put to use by lending it to members through strict mechanisms.

The togetherness and hard work of these women has also attracted the attention of Sri Wahyuning, a graduate of Sebelas Maret University in Surakarta. Sri joined the cooperative because she saw that Kokama had market potential. “I want to develop that potential by expanding the market for Kokama products, which until now have mainly been sold to nearby hamlets only,” she says.

Since last year, Sri has been appointed as the head of human resource development and marketing at the cooperative. She has to think of ways to expand its market because until now there has not been any specific marketing strategy.

“I want to integrate the marketing [of Kokama], form an effective marketing network and sell all members’ products under one label. The simple packaging will be redesigned, and the number of manufactured products will be increased and diversified to increase their value.”

Sri is optimistic that with this strategy she can help Kokama members to earn bigger profits and thus improve the welfare of their families.

Popular

EU seeks to allay RI supply concerns amid sanctions on Russian oil

Central Java train crash kills four: Police

One Indonesian still in hospital after Jeddah bus crash, Foreign Ministry says