Going to Town

After dried fruit production finished at the home industry, the ladies that work at the small factory decided to take a trip to town.  Although I didn't realize it at the time, this seems to be a BIG Deal!  And as I thought about it more and more it made sense, these people mainly live off of what they grow in the fields.  If they have needs outside of what can be grown on the farm or made in the home, the small stores within the village can probably provide it.  None of them own a car, but most have a motorcycle that could make the trip to town.  Even if they went to town what would they do, any shopping would probably be too expensive, maybe just driving around to see the sites.  It was still unclear to me exactly where we were going to in the city of Kediri the morning of our departure, but I was in to learn and have some fun!

Left: Waiting on our ride to head to town....What is
that ride?.....Above: Yup, that's a truck!  We're
taking a truck to town.  Load up!

Right: While the wives and kids squeezed into the back (that's right none of the husbands joined the trip), I was saved a seat in the front (Above)

Above: The drive to Kediri is only about fifteen
minutes on a motorcycle, but maybe took closer to
thirty minutes in the truck to reach our destination.
Right: What was that destination?  As I was about to
find out, we arrived at a small theme/fun park....
Let's take a look!

Left: Small boats for kids and families to ride around the small pond with a bridge in the background.  The magnificent tree is what caught my eye!
Above: Not too many adults swimming here, but the kids pool was packed!

A few animals, mostly birds, were also found inside.  Above:  I could use some help on identify this unique feather friend.
Right: This turkey looks a bit confused as he's hanging out near the kasuari bird's cage, which is native to West Papua.

Finding a shady spot - these small deer were quite relaxed as  a few visitors walked by.

Above: This young man from our group decided to do some
singing on stage with the young performer on his left.  They
sang a couple of songs in the local language.  I got on stage to
record the event, but was quickly asked if I'd like to dance, to
which I quickly responded "no thanks."
Right: On lookers, with the stage in front.

Above: Towards early afternoon, the mothers took a seat while the kids continued to play...
Below: The kids use a smaller version of the becek to pedal one another around.  Bigger versions are used in the streets of Indonesia to get people around town.

Before piling back into the truck to head home, we snapped
a picture together.  It was about mid-afternoon, I'd guess
many of the women had chores to attend to once they
got home.

Stepping outside of the fun park, there was this long
fruit stand on the side of the road in Kediri.  Some
people like to joke that while there are only the dry
rainy seasons in Indonesia, they actually have many
seasons - fruit seasons that is. ;) 

Other Happenings in the Village - Rock Quary

While farming is the main occupation in this village, people still search for some extra income as they can by honing a new trade like carpentry, selling a special food, or opening a small repair shop for motorcycles, but this options are far and few between, thus creating a scenario fitting for a large companies to come in and employ large numbers of villagers.  In this case gravel is needed for construction jobs around Indonesia, and labor is needed to extract the rocks and make the gravel.  Thus many of the men from the villagers are employed to swing large hammers in the rocky hills pictured below and women often spend days making those large rocks into gravel, all for minimal wages.

The best I can do for a panoramic view - sorry.
Here you can see where the trucks drive in and out,
and if you look closely you can even spot a couple
of them in the distance.

Look closely in both these pictures to see the
men working near the base of these hills.

Where forests once densely populated the countryside, these hills have been split open to get some of the natural resources necessary for improving the country's poor infrastructure.  This land is owned by a mango farmer and currently being rented by the rock company for five years, after which it will be returned to the farmer.  What will be left after they've finished taking the rocks or what can the land be used for later?  We'll wait and see....

With work options limited, these men are likely
happy to work here for $7-$12/day.  Their income
depends on how much rock they're able to extract
in a day.  Once the rock company is done here,
they'll likely be looking for jobs again.

While the men are working to get the big rocks
from the nearby hills, these women go to work
making the gravel just a few meters away.
Here they've even constructed a make-shift tent to
keep the sun off during the hot afternoons.

While some work a few meters away from the "rock hill," the sound of
hammer hitting rock can be heard throughout the village as many
women make gravel in front of their homes, like the women pictured
left.  They are also paid based on how much gravel they can make.
One basket of gravel, as pictured above, is worth about 30cents, and
some can fill about 10 baskets a day, coming to around $3/day.

These women are busy at work while their children or grandchildren watch on.

Where do mangos come from?

 Simple answer = they grow on trees like these...some of which are decades and maybe even a century old.

But how do they go from these trees in mango groves to these baskets in a village kilometers away....?

 

First there's the basic hand-picking, but this only works for those
low-hanging mangos that can be reached from the ground or by
ladder.  How about those high-hanging mangos?

Most local mango farmers use a device like this man, which is
basically a long bamboo stick with a pouch on the end of it and
maybe a second long bamboo stick with a knife on the end.
The high-hanging mangos can either be cut or shook loose,
but end up falling into the pouch positioned at the end of the
bamboo stick.

From the pouch, the mangos are then placed in these larger baskets  until both are full.  Then the baskets can be carried home.  This man is was just getting started when we caught up with him.  Looks like he's got an afternoons worth of work ahead of him to fill those baskets.

Unfortunately some of these high-hanging mangos just are deemed worth it to pick because there are so many.  When mango season is in full swing, the prices tend to plummet, giving farmers little reason to strive after those high-hanging mangos and resulting in mangos rotting on the trees.  Our hopes are that with a dried mango product being in demand in markets outside of these villages, mangos will be in higher demand resulting in higher prices, greater incentive to use these natural resources, & higher income for these farmers.

The women will often carry one basket full mangos strapped to their back,
while the men tend to carry two baskets with a bamboo stick connecting
them.  These folks are heading back out to get another load.  How far?
1-4 kilometers is not uncommon (.5-3 miles)!

Carrying 1 basket (~100lbs.) or 2 baskets (200lbs.)
1-3 miles, its no wonder some of the men in the
village look like an NFL linebacker (see photo left).
After pushing a wheelbarrow a few hours one day, I
jokingly commented that I wanted to become strong
like this man, to which everyone simply laughed!

 The majority of the mango trees are located in the hills, while the village lies below.  Thus retrieving these mangos is a labor intensive task that usually starts in the early morning until mid-afternoon.

Life on Gang Mangga (Mango Alley)

Nestled into the small village of Tiron in East Java, its easy
to pass right by Mango Alley without
knowing it, just like I did on my first trip here.

But if you take a left and head down Mango Alley, there's a story
to be told...

...Pass by the neighbors waiting out the afternoon heat
on their front porch, come to the end of that alley, and
you'll see this house.

There lives a simple mango farmer & his family -
wife, son, daughter, & father-in-law.
(Above) Next door often sits their widowed, 90 year old+,
great-uncle, who cuts his own firewood & still
raises chickens.....

Nowadays when mango season is in full swing, this place comes alive!  Mangos are rolled in from the local farmers to be peeled, sliced, dried, & packaged by the families that grow them!

This home industry is providing new opportunities for
their families' and community!

These women often rise early in the morning to complete a few household chores before coming to work around 7am.  They are able to make extra income to send their children to school & provide other family needs before returning home by mid-afternoon to attend their families'.

These ladies' presence makes the once quiet house at the end of Mango Alley alive with activity & laughter.

While mangos dry in the oven, the front porch is often
 busy with conversations late into the evening.

Yup, take a left down Mango Alley and there's much more to be discovered!