Informal Sector Vs Formal Sector

According to the Central Statistics Agency (BPS), the unemployment rate decreased in February 2008 compared to that in February 2007. How could that be possible? The reason is the number of unemployed absorbed by that tough and self-reliant sector - the informal sector.

Facts show that annually, there are 70 percent of people working in the informal sector and only 30 percent people working in the formal sector. It seems unbelievable.

But, if you look around your neighborhood, you will understand. Let us pay attention to our urban environment. Whether we realize it or not, there are actually many members of the informal sector all around us. One of them is the vegetable hawker moving from one housing block to another with his trusty three-wheeled cart.

If we take a closer look at these people's activities, you may notice an interesting phenomenon that occurs in areas such as Kelapa Gading, North Jakarta. In the area, no more than 1,633.7 hectares wide, there are five big modern markets selling the same things as the vegetable hawkers: fresh vegetables, fish, meats, fruits, etc. The vegetable hawkers compete not only with modern markets, but also with mini markets and traditional markets as well.

But, despite the growing number of modern markets, the number of vegetable hawkers continues to increase. So the small business players in this sector with their entrepreneurial skills, and so to their customers, are actually benefitting. These poor people realize they are in a marginal position.

But never underestimate them. If we observe them closely we will find how robust these people are, because they are able to survive despite the competition from both traditional and modern markets.

Since they hail from outside Jakarta they rent very cheap houses or rooms. They are not only struggling for their livelihoods, but also against their competitors. The amazing this is that despite the competition, they manage to find their own markets and loyal customers, no matter what social strata the customers come from. Each market has its own specific section. Vegetable hawkers have their own section as some people only need small amounts of vegetables and other products.

The customers feel comfortable with the cheaper prices, their proximity and the good quality products that the hawkers offer. Initially, I thought a comfortable environment, one-stop shopping centers and the need not to bargain would have attracted people to shop at modern markets and abandon the hawkers, but this has not happened.

The only obstacle they face, they say, is financial. They cannot apply for soft loans from the banks as they have no indemnity to guarantee the loans. The way is to borrow money from a so-called juragan (private creditor).

Further research is needed to avoid generalization. However, this may also be the case with other informal sector activities; facing competition, eviction, minimum funds and other obstacles, but, they are still standing and are strong despite their minimal resources.

They take these resources and rapidly increase them, as long as they have the opportunity to do so. On the one hand it is one of the ways to survive, but on the other this is a small entrepreneurial endeavor that, someday, will grow and become a big business.

Amid global financial disasters, the state needs to give more attention to the hawkers' endeavors and not just evict them. Eviction of the street vendors is undoubtedly evidence of the government's disregard of this sector. Despite its existence as a savior to absorb the unemployed, this sector generally has often been forgotten and "marginalized" by the state. The government needs to create more regulations in order to solve the problem.

Please remember this sector is a savior during economic crises not only for those who lack education and skills but also for those who suffer due to employment termination.

The lesson learned from Singapore, to build and to resettle the food hawkers, perhaps could be one to consider. Another example of how to promote the status of the informal sector is in Malaysia, who brought this activity into the formal sector so that no eviction was required.

Yet, one should not just adopt those examples blindly because they worked in their home countries; sometimes they need adjustment to be applicable elsewhere. Perhaps one thing that should be considered is to identify what is needed through wider participation in the planning process.

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Alat-alat GPS

Beberapa alat penerima sinyal satelit GPS (baca: alat GPS) saat ini semakin murah harganya, namun itupun tergantung tujuan dan budget anda. Untuk GPS yang relatif sederhana, user friendly, dan sekedar untuk kepentingan navigasi harganya cukup murah, dengan kisaran kurang dari 2 juta rupiah. Namun untuk kepentingan yang membutuhkan ketelitian sangat tinggi (misal untuk kepentingan geodetik) maka 1 bundel dengan data pemrosesan pada akhir sesi (post processed) harganya bisa sebanding dengan 5 mobil avanza tipe G, terlebih jika membutuhkan pemrosesan pada saat itu juga (real time kinematic) bisa sebanding dengan 3 honda new CRV.

Sekarang tinggal apa tujuan anda dan berapa budget yang disediakan, jika anda ingin tahu lebih jauh tentang peralatan apa saja (bundel yang disertakan) anda dapat menghubungi saya di imel berikut: d_setiawan_99@yahoo.com.

Sharing Knowledge of GPS

What is GPS?
GPS is a system in order to determine the position by using latitude longitude and height coordinates referring to World Geodetic System (WGS) ’84.

The system consists of: satellites (which are operated by Department of Defense of USA), Control Stations, and Receiver.

What for?
It helps a surveyor for conducting topographic and marine surveys, construction (road, building, drainage, etc), useful for fishermen (navigation purposes), and so forth.

In simple word: to find your position in one global coordinate system.

Is that complicated stuff? No, it is not.
Based on your purpose and your budget you may choose any type of GPS.

For road construction you may choose real time kinematic GPS bundle which is quiet expensive compared to GPS for navigation.

Even some types of your mobile phones now are equipped with the small GPS receiver.

My experiences with GPS’s Devices:
- handheld GPS (for navigation): garmin, geo explorer I – III, magellan
- real time kinematic GPS (for mine survey): Trimble 4000 SSi, Trimble 4700, Trimble 4800, Trimble 5700
- GPS for GIS: Geo Explorer III, Trimble 4600 LS + data logger, ProXL
- And Differential GPS (marine survey): Trimble MS860 + HydroPro

Travel Guide: Geneva - Suisse

For Backpakers...

If you are somewhere in Europe, it's very easy to travel to Switzerland, especially to Geneva. The guidance is:
1. Book your destination hotel first, I had searched through searched engine and got City Hostel. You may visit at cityhostel.ch.
2. The cheap ticket for traveling around Europe is ( I think) by bus, any buses. At that time, i preferred travelling by euroline bus with the consideration the euroline bus station was near by to my boarding home. You may visit at eurlines.com.
3. By bus, you may stop at international bus station at geneva, then ask the people the way to go to rui ferrer, it is very easy to find out. Finally you may reach your hotel.

And then time is yours.

Ignition Problem - Mobil Tersendat-sendat: Tips

Ciri-ciri:

1. Mobil jalan tersendat-sendat jalan terutama setelah gigi 1;
2. Terutama saat menanjak tidak kuat dan makin terasa hentakannya;
3. Suara mesin pincang.

Cek:
1. Busi, masih bagus atau sudah tidak berfungsi;
2. Cek kabel busi;
3. Cek filter bensin (yg masih karburator);
4. Cek karburator.

Setelah diganti salah satu pasti oke (berdasarkan pengalaman pribadi dan setelah konsultasi dengan tukang mesin).

Flood : Looking Back the Governor's Priorities

Fauzi's priority programs

1. Mitigating traffic jams caused by the ongoing construction of busway corridors VIII, IX and X

2. Managing and re-routing traffic

3. Preparing Mass Rapid Transit project

4. Improving existing city institutions and issuing related regulations

5. Mitigating floods

6. Giving aid to the poor in the form of scholarship, staple foods and health insurance

7. Providing more regulations, public facilities and easier access for handicapped

8. Revitalizing Jakarta's slums

9. Fighting drug abuse

10. Intensifying communication between the governor and Jakartans

Comments:

Fauzi Bowo's priorities are linked to Jakarta's problems. I agree with most of his views at the moment, but think he needs to look further to the future also.

As Jakarta's governor, he must be aware that the city is now an urban dynamic, where more people are looking for places to live outside Jakarta, especially those in the middle and high income brackets.

This is increasing the number of commuters traveling in and out of Jakarta daily, which sparks traffic congestion. This is not only caused by Jakarta's limited number of roads, but also the increasing number of private cars in the capital.

In the short term, the busway system may answer this problem. But what about in the long term? It this just political will? It would be better if plans were made looking further ahead than five years.

The annual floods are also a problem in Jakarta. In the long term, there will be no profit gained from constructing new canals or dams. However, there will also be no floods if the government makes an effort. So many industries are forced to temporarily close down operations when floods occur.

The informal sector also needs attention. Jakarta still attracts people from all over the country. Most of them are unskilled and uneducated labors. Since they can not enter the formal sector, the informal sector is their answer.

What the government should do is establish regulations to support them. Without such regulations, there will be more slums and street vendors.

Published by The Jakarta Post

Informal Sector as Survival strategy or entrepreneurship

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In the cold early morning, Matra smokes a cigarette and drink a cup of coffee before starting his ordinary days, as a vegetable hawker. In ten minutes he has been ready to paddle his cart. He goes to the big traditional market in Pulo Gadung area, East Jakarta every three AM! Jacket, cap, cart are the only things accompany him to face his live. His wife and his children support him by blessing him from village, out of Jakarta. He lives in his modest boarding home.

As usual, he meets the retailers of vegetables, fruits, fish, meat, and chicken. Joke, chat, and bargaining are part of the conversation. Having spent for two hours there, he then moves to certain housing blocks within Kelapa Gading sub district. He screams loudly; “sayur sayur… (vegetables vegetables..)”, to attract the customer to stop him. Sometimes he meets the new comers buying his goods but most of his customers are regular customer, the people who always buy vegetables, fruits, meet, and fish from him. Interesting chat among them!
Sometimes, his regular customers owe Matra, but sometimes, Matra owes to the customers. There has been a trust in between. Matra knows he has to manage it and that is his opportunity to tie the customers.

At twelve o’clock when hungry attacks his stomach, he stops at the stall called ‘warteg’ and have his lunch. He offers the stall owner as well, of the goods he has. Sometimes bargains happen and deal is met. Rice, tofu, and vegetables are his ordinary lunch. After taking a rest for an hour, he moves again to do the same activity as before until it reaches three pm.

That is ordinary day for Matra from two am until three pm. At three pm or before three he comes back again to his modest boarding home. He then cleans the cart from leftover goods and keeps the rest of the vegetables in the refrigerator which is provided by the host. He then takes a bath and chats with his other friends. The small conversation continues in the dining room when they have dinner. Around eight o’clock, he dreams to gain his wish. And in the cold early morning, he starts again, the ordinary lives as a hawker within informal sector.

That is a brief chronicle of mobile vegetable vendor within urbanized area. Most of vendors are low educated people and have been part of the community that needs to improve life. Most of them came from outside Jakarta eg. West Java (Bekasi, Kerawang) and Central Java (Pati, Blora, etc) and some are weekly commuters. Since they do not have affordability to buy land in Jakarta, they rent a house, for those who already married, or some are share rent room, for those who have not married yet. Of course they are looking for the cheapest one to rent the house or room.

Some findings show that some of them are actually labors and not truly entrepreneurs. They work for their boss. They are given certain amount of money as the capital and there is no time limit when they have to pay back to the boss. According to their ‘convention law’, most of them pay back within a week and the other thing, daily interest of 2%, should be paid as well. Based on observation and interviewed, they reach net profit at range of Rp150,000.00 to Rp400,000.00. The uncertainty is mostly caused by holidays in which in holidays most customers take a rest at home and not going out of town so that they will cook much in holidays. The other thing, the hawkers rent cart to the boss as well. It is preferable for vendor to do that because they are weekly commuters. Who will care with cart if they go home town? That is the reason why they prefer to rent then own their selves. It means they have to pay interest rate and cart per day to the boss as well as the loan at the end of the week. If they could not pay it, they should pay in the following week. For those who can pay back, they can borrow money again to the boss. It is like a circle, every week they borrow and every end of the week they pay back the loan, and Matra one of them and it has been going for ten years.

It seems that he and his friends have no other choices. There is no job for low educated people like him and he also does not have rice field in his village. Fortunately, his neighbor in his village offers him a job to be a hawker. His neighbor, as his boss now, has found his prosperity in Jakarta.
According to Matra, he wants his children have good education, reach higher education level, and have a good job. His willingness to face burning hot day or even hard rain encourages his vision. He is ready to work hard because the condition forces him to survive! But please be noted that they can reach at least Rp600,000.00 per month and they deliver it to their family in village. It is quite big amount of money in the village.

How about the other hawkers, who live with family in Jakarta? That is not enough for them. Fortunately, they have their own strategy. Some of their wife opens stall or little shop and some works as servant, house keeper, etc.

There are lessons learned from this observation. I believe there are many others “Matra” in the big cities like Jakarta. This activity actually absorbs the unemployment and it is now government action to take part in creating enabling environment for them. Do they know the micro finance credit for small entrepreneur? If so, why do they not use micro finance credit provided by government? Why do they prefer to loan money from the boss? Those are questions to answer how government can take part of this situation. Otherwise, if less attention to be paid, it is just a survival strategy to life.

Published by the Jakarta Post