Ciliwung Merdeka and Kampung Sumur residents have set up Sanggar Daya Kemanusiaan (Humanitarian Space), which not only serves as a community space, but also a woodcraft business entity called CV. Ikhtiar Jiwa as well as Warga Bersama Berdaya Cooperatives.

Ciliwung Merdeka community head Sandyawan Sumardi said Ciliwung Merdeka used to have similar businesses prior to its eviction.

“For 15 years we had this kind of space. We still miss how it feels to fight together,” Sandyawan said on Sunday.

He said the main purpose of the space was to help empower locals, by teaching them woodwork or by including the locals in the cooperative.

“People always think that social aid should be materials or money, but such things always fail [to empower residents],” he said.

The space boasts a communal area, a pop-up stilted house, and other amenities to help residents hold various activities.

Sandyawan said the stilted house functioned as a studio where the locals could learn how to build pop-up houses and create furniture. Woodworking experts from Pati and Jepara in Central Java teach residents how to make such woodcrafts.

The Warga Bersama Berdaya Cooperative, which was previously designated for Bukit Duri residents, has now expanded its outreach and includes Kampung Sumur residents and even other city kampung dwellers who want to join, the cooperative advisor Swai Maskalis said.

Maskalis said the cooperative was a consumer-goods cooperative and was a space for residents to help increase their livelihoods.

“Cooperatives should increase residents’ livelihoods,” she said.

Sandyawan said the space had been in the making since January this year, with the intention of starting an urban residents’ movement that encompassed communities from various city kampungs and their residents.

Sandyawan and other activists, especially Ciliwung Merdeka members, looked for an ideal kampung in East Jakarta to start the pilot project.

On Feb. 25, the choice fell on Kampung Sumur, where most residents are casual workers such as woodworkers, mechanics, scavengers, contract workers, or who run small shops from home.

Sandyawan and the activists then introduced themselves to the local residents and found a plot of unused land, which the activists rented for four years for the space.

As some of the residents are woodworkers, they contributed to building the space using a combination of new and scavenged materials.

Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan expressed his support for Sanggar Daya Kemanusiaan by sending a floral board on Sunday, although he did not attend the inauguration.

Meanwhile, Kampung Sumur residents have expressed interest in the space.

Ida Rosidah, 45, who works as a tax consultant, said the space would be a good place for local children to engage in positive activities.

She said some of the local mothers, including herself, were interested in joining the cooperative, as they wanted to earn additional income and support their households.

“I hope that we can develop good cooperation here [with other kampung residents] and to broaden our experiences and to get additional income,” Ida said.

Siti Aminah, 37, hoped that the community could be a space for mothers like herself to improve their skills and start a business.

“I want to join the cooperative so I don’t just stay at home doing nothing,” she said.

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