New Motorbike to Help Iya Sell Fermented Fish

For ten years, Iya (53) has been struggling as her family’s sole breadwinner selling fermented (pindang) fish. She doesn’t make that much money because the capital that she has is limited. Without any vehicle, she couldn’t reach as many customers as possible.

Handover of a motorbike to Iya (53) who is the breadwinner of her family. (MRI Bandung / Hildhan)

ACTNews, BANDUNG REGENCY – Iya is a 53-year-old woman living in Ciganitri, Bojongsoang District, Bandung Regency, who has been the breadwinner of her family for over a decade since her husband fell ill. She sells fermented (pindang) fish to make ends meet. Although she doesn’t make that much money, she is still grateful for the sustenance Allah has given her.

She gets the raw fish from her neighbor at the price of IDR 30,000 per kilogram. She can actually buy the raw fish for a much cheaper price of IDR 10,000 per kilogram. However, she opts to buy raw fish from her neighbor because it costs her more money and labor to get to the market. With only the limited capital she has, she can’t afford to go to the market every day.

"I sell my fermented fish to three or four villages. I start peddling at 6 a.m. and go home at 4 p.m.,” said Iya, Friday (2/26/2021).

To get to these villages, Iya has to take share taxis and motorcycle taxis. It costs her up to IDR 50,000 a day. Earning only IDR 100,000 a day, the transport fare is too much for her to bear, not to mention that she still has to share the profit she earns with her neighbor from which she gets the raw fish.

In order to make it easier for Iya to make a living, Aksi Cepat Tanggap (ACT) provided her with a motorcycle at the end of February. This is not the first time ACT visited her to provide support for her business. Previously, ACT has provided business capital through the Waqf for Indonesian Micro Businesses program.

"With this new motorcycle, we hope that madam Iya can become an independent business owner as it will be easier for her to get to the market to buy raw materials and to sell her fermented fish, "said Husen Nurochman of Aksi Cepat Tanggap West Java Program Department, Friday (2/26/2021).

Now that she has a new motorbike, she can cut the transport expense. She also doesn’t need to walk anymore to peddle her products. Husen estimated that Iya’s net income can increase up to IDR 100,000.

"The motorbike that ACT handed over to madam Iya is funded by the community’s generosity. We hope that more acts of philanthropy can be done and benefit more micro-business owners so that their economy can improve," hoped Husen. []