[ti:An Online Market Grows in Indonesia]
[by:www.21voa.com]
[00:00.00]更多听力请访问21VOA.COM
[00:01.92]Rani Nurwitawati worked for 17 years
[00:07.32]at an Indonesian market research company
[00:11.16]and never thought she would lose her job.
[00:15.76]But then the COVID-19 crisis struck.
[00:21.68]"My brother lost his job, my sister got a 25 percent pay cut.
[00:27.72]And finally, I also lost my job," said the 41-year-old Jakarta woman.
[00:35.00]Nurwitawati knew from her work that the food and drink business
[00:41.64]was resistant to the economic downturn.
[00:45.28]So, she decided to start selling food from her home.
[00:51.92]But she needed to find customers, or people who would buy her products.
[00:59.32]Nurwitawati found an ally in Omah Wulangreh,
[01:05.84]an art and cultural community in Jakarta.
[01:10.52]Before COVID-19, the community
[01:13.72]was the physical home of the Pahingan Sunday market.
[01:19.24]But when COVID-19 forced the physical market to close,
[01:23.92]the artists moved it online.
[01:27.44]The number of sellers at the market grew
[01:30.76]as space was no longer an issue.
[01:34.84]Nurwitawati says she is now able to earn some money
[01:40.04]while she learns how to run a business.
[01:43.76]"I have learned about networking, got new knowledge,
[01:47.40]and more people know my products," she said.
[01:52.08]"When I joined for the first time, it was really sad
[01:55.64]because there was only one buyer, after that it increased to more than 10."
[02:01.32]She prepares baked spaghetti and mango sticky rice.
[02:06.76]Parahita Satiti, 37, also joined the Sunday market.
[02:14.32]She had always dreamed of starting a business related to traditional clothing.
[02:21.16]When her employers cut her monthly earnings by 50 percent
[02:25.92]she decided to open the clothing business.
[02:30.44]She started selling Javanese kebaya
[02:33.96]— clothing for women made of traditional Javanese batik cloth.
[02:39.88]"This is a new business,
[02:42.08]but seeing the enthusiasm and orders from the Pahingan Sunday market,
[02:46.92]I think it will be a promising business for me," Satiti said.
[02:52.48]The Sunday market is usually open once every 35 days,
[02:57.88]said Reny Ajeng, one of its organizers.
[03:02.64]By the third online event last month, there were 46 sellers.
[03:09.36]Buyers had one week to preorder products,
[03:12.68]such as traditional foods, clothes, and coffee.
[03:17.64]During one week, there were almost 500 products sold,
[03:22.28]bringing in about 25 million rupiah, or $1,770.
[03:31.64]"To be honest, we are really happy," Reny said.
[03:35.76]"Our first mission was to make an online Sunday market
[03:39.92]since we can do nothing offline during the pandemic.
[03:45.68]But it turns out, enthusiasm is high,
[03:49.44]so many sellers are having high hopes."
[03:54.44]I'm Armen Kassabian. 更多听力请访问21VOA.COM