Rocket to Block S to find any delicacy of cuisine

Hey...it's another article I wrote. This time, it's about Blok S area where you can find a diversity of cuisine. When vendors are a headache to Jakarta administration, or it may be too in other cities in the nation, an alternative solution was addressed which is to fascilitate vendors in an area with cozy shelters. Well, it is a successful story the administration has done so far.

Trust me, you won't get your guts and feelings harmed whenever you look something to eat in the area. It's all gonna make you drool.

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Public comfortable with reorganized Blok S Wednesday
November 15, 2006
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta


The city administration's pilot project targeting unlicensed hawkers in Blok S, South Jakarta, has proven popular with the public, judging by the quick pace of the food stalls and the crowds.

An eclectic mix of foods, ranging from kerak telor (traditional Betawi omelette) to sirloin steak, can be found in the orange shelters of the 360-square-meter area that accommodates 74 food traders working in shifts, day and night.

The muted sounds of car engines, footsteps and laughter and the cries of traders greet passersby out for a late-night snack or an early morning breakfast.

"It's more comfortable this way," said one of three young women dining on chicken noodle soup at one of the stalls.

Ateng, 40, a meatball soup vendor, said, "It's more comfortable because the place is good and we're legal, so there's no risk of being evicted by the local authorities."

He said that despite the improvements the project had brought, he earned less money, since he had to set aside Rp 40,000 (US$4.39) a day for operational costs and compete with more vendors.

But Kartini Gunawan, who has been selling steak in the area since 1993, said her profit had increased by 50 percent since the project began earlier this year.

According to Syukri Bey, the head of the city's (small- and medium-scale enterprises) management agency, the Rp 850 million (US$93,200) pilot project -- which is financed by the State Ministry for State Enterprises -- will be used as a model for 24 other locations, five in each municipality.

Syukri said Monday the traders were more independent now and could together generate about Rp 40 million ($4,390) a day.

Besides the traders who have been accommodated in the project, the administration has reserved space for the dozens of other food hawkers who operate at Blok S.

Urban expert Yayat Supriatna said Monday that after six months of monitoring developments -- including customer numbers and traders' profits -- the project was declared a success.

"It must be noted, however, that if the vendors are not involved in the project, they will become dependent on the city administration for capital," Yayat told The Jakarta Post.

He said the administration should involve the traders and the local community in the 24 areas where the project will be replicated as they were the most aware of their needs. Otherwise, he said, the vendors might not enjoy good business and move to another place.

"This is a good plan and we should support it. Vendors create their own work and contribute to the city economy. But they need to be accommodated and acknowledged by the government."

Yayat estimated that the number of street vendors might reach hundreds of thousands, far above the figure presented by the University of Indonesia's SME center, which puts the number at more than 141,000. According to the SME center, the figure grows by at least five percent every year, with an average contribution of 40 percent to the overall city economy.

Jakarta Residents Forum (Fakta) head Azas Tigor Nainggolan also hailed the project, "Reorganizing the area into a city-regulated hawker permitted place has evidently been a good thing. It's an alternative solution to the problems caused by street vendors, who have encroached on every inch of space causing traffic jams in many parts of the city, especially since the monetary crisis hit the country."