‘Soto’ vendor defies stereotype for success
Wayan Sukanada, 44, is a popular vendor of soto, a kind of traditional soup, with hundreds of faithful customers. His food stall on Jl. Oongan, East Denpasar, is always packed full during lunchtime.
A Balinese, Wayan is fighting against the stereotype that most Balinese men are reluctant to work in the informal sector.
The informal sector is unattractive to Balinese men, because if they work in this sector, they will be considered by their neighbors and community as lower class.
“I am very proud of working as a soto seller,” Wayan smiled while preparing a bowl of the beef soup, which he calls Soto Karangasem.
There is no denying that Bali is currently flooded by food stalls selling a broad range of food.
“But the sellers mostly come from Java, Madura and Lombok. There are only a very few Balinese who take such a low-paid occupation with no social status,” he said. “Every day, I make around Rp 500,000 (US$50) net income, which is enough for me to support my family and to send my four children to school.”
Soto Karangasem is a delicious Balinese dish from the eastern part of the island. The soup has unique flavor of mixed herbs and spices, combined with beef and vegetables.
Wayan wakes up every morning at 3 a.m. to ready his food stall for the day’s customers. He usually opens his stall at 6 a.m.
“By lunchtime, I’ve already finish work. I don’t want to extend opening hours because as a Balinese, I have to participate in various social activities in my banjar,” he said, referring to the local village organization that is part of Balinese daily life.
What fills Wayan with pride is the fact that he is now financially independent.
Currently, more and more Balinese are selling their property, including rice fields, plantations, houses and land, to support themselves and to finance the various religious and traditional rituals that is required of them. Many such families have, as a result, lost their belongings and ended up poor.
Wayan is different from his fellow villagers. The hard-working vendor doesn’t have any biases about working in the informal sector and continues to work diligently, regardless of what people say.
In his village is a centuries-old tradition requiring residents to hold a special ritual called Nawur Sanjana to honor their ancestors. This long and complicated ritual is expensive, according to Wayan. Most of his fellow villagers would likely sell part or all of their property to hold the Nawur Sanjana.
Wayan, on the other hand, has just performed the ritual using his own savings.
“Thanks to Soto Karangasem, me and my family now have so many possibilities in realizing our dreams and in fulfilling our family’s (customary) obligations,” he said.
Back in his village near Candi Dasa in Karangasem, East Bali, Wayan has become a role model among youngsters.
“Concerns about social status have hindered many people, the young in particular, from achieving their dreams. You don’t have to be ashamed of working as a food vendor or whatever, because not everybody can work in offices,” said Wayan, whose message resounds among his less well-off neighbors.
Such a negative perception of the informal sector and perceived degradation in status has caused many Balinese to fail in procuring and retaining regular employment.
“It requires extra work to wipe away that feeling (of inferiority),” Wayan commented.
Wayan’s entrepreneurship venture was actually “handed down” from his elder brother, Nengah Widana, who first opened a Soto Karangasem stall in Denpasar’s Badung market. Nengah’s business grew so fast that he was able to pass it on to his five brothers and several neighbors.
Nengah opened his first stall in l974.
“Just five months after selling Soto Karangasem, I could buy a 250-square-meter plot of land in my village in Amlapura,” he recalled.
Nengah was disturbed every time a neighbor was forced to sell their house or land in order to repay their debts or to hold family events.
“There is a cynical anecdote — the Balinese sell their land to buy a bowl of meatball soup. I am the exact opposite of this, because I sell Soto Karangasem to buy land,” he said proudly.
Six members of Nengah’s and Wayan’s family are successful in their own small-scale ventures. Their success was contagious, and some of their cousins and neighbors have eagerly followed in their steps by opening Soto Karangasem stalls in Denpasar and other cities in Bali.
“We have to convince our ‘brothers’ and ’sisters’ in Bali that working as food vendors will not destroy their social standing,” Nengah said.
Instead, he added, it would prevent them from lingering debt problems and financial constraints — with the added ‘bonus’ of flexible working hours.
“I could not imagine working in the formal or private sectors,” said Nengah. “I am sure that if I did, I would not be able to spend a lot of time with my family and keep to the traditional obligations in my banjar, which are important for most Balinese.”
Jakarta Post - Jakarta,Indonesia
Add comment June 7th, 2007