The Covid-19 epidemic has left poor people even worse off than they were. In a number of regions, female heads of households and women\'s schools have become the vanguard to help women make ends meet.
By
SONYA HELLEN SINOMBOR
·4 minutes read
The Covid-19 epidemic has left poor people even worse off than they were. In a number of regions, female heads of households and women\'s schools have become the vanguard to help women make ends meet.
As household income is almost nonexistent, women and their communities in East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) and West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) have been working together to meet their basic needs. They help each other so the families can survive, stoves remain lit, and children have mobile credit to participate in online learning.
In NTT, female household heads are working in collaboration with Pekka Mart to help village women meet their basic needs. Pekka Mart is run by a women\'s cooperative established by members of the Household Head Empowerment Program (Pekka).
Pekka Mart sells basic goods and handcrafted products, mostly produced by female household heads. These women have become the main breadwinners in their families because they are widows, divorced or unmarried.
"Pekka Mart opened in 2002. Initially, it was a savings and loan cooperative with initial deposits of Rp 2,500 and mandatory deposits of Rp 250. The initial and mandatory deposits were then increased respectively to Rp 100,000 and 10,000. Today, we have around 2,000 women members,“ said Pekka Mart founder Bernadette Deram, 50, who is also an NTT Pekka Facilitator.
There are three Pekka Mart outlets in NTT: Pekka Mart Lodan Doe in Hinga village, Kelubagolit district, East Flores regency; Pekka Mart Seni Tawa in Lewoblolon village, Ileboleng district, East Flores; and Kerubaki Pekka Mart in Amakaka village, Ile Ape district, Lembata.
The three outlets sell basic goods produced by hundreds of Pekka members who live in villages. In addition to selling staples at lower prices, the Pekka Mart outlets also function as savings and loan cooperatives. Their members can also take out loans in the form of basic commodities and pay for these in installments.
Pekka Mart also sells textiles and agricultural products, such as coconut oil and corn, that are produced by Pekka members.
Since the epidemic emerged, most of the textiles produced by local women have remained unsold due to low demand. The weavers have been often left with no choice but to sell them at the low price of Rp 150,000 per cloth. Because of the low demand, thousands of women are depending on Pekka Mart to buy their textiles and farm products.
"Pekka Mart buys the handicraft and agricultural products so the women will have an income," said Bernadette.
Apriyani Ese, a 34-year-old Pekka NTT member, explained that the majority of Pekka members were widows, who have had to become the backbone of their families because their husbands had died or they were divorced.
"There are also [women] who still have husbands, but they work in Kalimantan and Malaysia and cannot send money," she said.
The women receive assistance from cooperatives like Pekka Mart. However, many members have had difficulties paying off their loans to buy basic needs since March, due to their lack of income. "We give them an exemption. They can ‘buy’ food and pay for it when they have money,” she said.
Some of the women pay for their basic goods by bartering their textiles. Pekka Mart accepts the textiles, which they value according to their quality, with the valuation ranging from Rp 250,000 to Rp 700,000 per cloth.
Growing vegetables
Since the epidemic hit North Lombok Regency, NTB, a number of female household heads, along with members of the Women\'s School in several villages, have been growing vegetables in their home gardens and rice fields.
They have started a horticultural initiative called sustainable home farming (KRPL) to meet their own food needs. They have also formed farmers groups, like the “Women\'s School” in Bayan village, Bayan district, for growing vegetable crops in rice fields. The vegetable crops they grow include water spinach, lettuce, chilies and tomatoes.
"About 30 members of the [Women\'s School] have worked together to build raised beds for growing vegetables. A number of men are also involved. We use cow dung as fertilizer, spread it over the raised beds, and then plant the vegetables. Two months ago, we had harvested our first crops,” said Singaden, the 42-year-old head of the Bayan Village Women\'s School.
Apart from compost, the group also receives seed assistance from the Bayan Village Family Welfare Movement (PKK). Some of the harvested vegetables were sold at the local market, while the rest was kept to feed their own families. The activities of Pekka Mart and the KRPL are examples of the efforts that female heads of households are making to survive the health crisis. (AGNES SWETTA PANDIA/IQBAL BASYARI)