Category: Indonesia
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From cigarettes to crackers: How one couple turned their office experience into entrepreneurship
As the sun hangs heavy in the sky, Edy straps dozens of packets of kerupuk onto his motorcycle. The load towers above his shoulders, swaying slightly as he navigates the narrow roads of Bali. One snapped rope could send everything spilling onto the pavement, a risk he knows well. A decade ago, Edy was leading a large…
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From carcass to crackers in a day: Inside Bali’s pork skin factories
You see bags of light, crunchy pork skin crackers at many food stalls in Bali. They are a popular snack. Typically, I would focus on creating portraits of the street food seller, and learning more about their life. This time, I was curious about the supply chain. Where do these crackers come from? I didn’t…
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From teacher to tofu maker: 100 trays a day in a family factory
In Bali, a small factory built by migrants turns soybeans into livelihoods. Let’s step into Ibu Maemunah’s factory, where 100 trays of tofu are produced each day. Maemunah was once a preschool teacher in Lombok. Today she runs a small tofu business in Bali. She is the boss, managing suppliers, overseeing workers, doing the accounts,…
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Life on wheels: The migrant street sellers of Bali
We’ll head into the streets of Bali where migration, money, and makanan (food) all mix into a life in motion. This story is not about street food, but the people behind it: the street sellers. The majority of small businesses die within 3 years. Each stall that you walk past is run by a brilliant…
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Jakarta: Making a living at home.
I was strolling through a neighbourhood in Jakarta, and observed that people’s homes were also doubling up as shops. Each family seemed to offer a service from dentistry, tailoring, fresh vegetables, and more! Commercial life weaved casually into the community, and it looked like every household had found a way to participate in the economy…
Shopkeeper Stories 