JAKARTA (April 13, 2023) - The weather was so hot. The faint roar of a sewing machine could be heard from behind a narrow alley. As it got closer, the voice sounded more intimate.

The sound of the sewing machines came from a 3x3 meter room. In it, four housewives from Kampung Bedeng were sewing materials to be transformed into several pairs of hotel slippers.

When the Minister of Social Affairs Tri Rismaharini visited their home industry (production house) in a narrow alley behind an elite housing area in the Cempaka Putih area, Central Jakarta, Wednesday afternoon (12/4), the four of them seemed unable to stop the rhythm of the hands and feet of the new sewing machine they just received on Tuesday night (11/4).

Without awkwardness, the Minister of Social Affairs entered the room and interacted with them. "How about the sewing machine? Do the sewing machines help you in making the slippers?” said the Minister of Social Affairs asking when she arrived at the hotel sandal home industry of Kampung Bedeng residents, Wednesday (12/4).

The presence of the Minister of Social Affairs that afternoon was to ensure that the empowerment in the form of a hotel slippers business provided by MoSA to the residents of Kampung Bedeng began to run.

In addition, to support the empowerment program related to the provision of hotel slipper which had a long impact on the lives of the residents of Kampung Bedeng, the Minister of Social Affairs also personally witnessed the signing of the collaboration between residents and hotel managers in Jakarta.

From the agreement with the hotel, it was targeted that Kampung Bedeng residents could produce as many as 5,000 pairs of sandals. In this case, the residents of Kampung Bedeng were under the auspices of the Cempaka Prosperous Cooperative (KCSB) partnered with MoSA.

According to Risma, with cooperatives, the community would benefit from sales sharing. MoSA was also seeking access to purchasing and marketing slippers so that the profit margins were even higher.

KCSB also received assistance from MoSA in the amount of IDR 179,698,300 in the form of cows, laptops, and staple goods intended for members of the cooperative.

Previously, Kampung Bedeng area, described by the Minister of Social Affairs, was a slum and densely populated village with 60-70 families living in an area of ​​400 square meters. Due to the condition of the village, the Minister of Social Affairs was then asked to help improve the standard of living of the residents there.

The step taken by the Minister of Social Affairs was to empower them. “My principle is that for them to get out of poverty, they have to work. It was not easy at that time, until I kept chasing it for quite a long time. But, Alhamdulillah, now we have found the plot," she said.

Empowerment interventions were then given to 20 residents of Bedeng Village by the MoSA's Technical Implementation Unit (UPT), namely "Mulya Jaya" Center in Jakarta. Through vocational training, residents learned to sew and were directed to produce hotel slippers.

The training was given twice, on February 26, 2023 and then, continued on March 24-28, 2023. The value of the assistance provided in the training was IDR 45,500,000 consisting of 4 sewing machines and slipper materials.

After receiving training from MoSA, a resident, Sumari (41), stated the orders that started coming from the hotel to Kampung Bedeng hotel slipper production house had made her solid in pursuing this business.

"I am very happy, from the beginning we couldn't do anything, now Alhamdulillah, we have experience, by the trust given from the hotel," she said happily.

Sumari said, the trust that had been given needs to be maintained. "We just have to maintain the trust, by the way of us having to be active in business," she said.

Apart from ensuring the empowerment of the hotel sandal production house, the Minister of Social Affairs also paid attention to the residents of Kampung Bedeng who sold food and drinks along the village roads.

This empowerment program was given by MoSA to 20 beneficiaries in the form of venture capital assistance worth IDR 30,592,000, as well as 3 units of three-wheeled motorbikes worth IDR 97,522,800 which were used for grocery and culinary businesses. MoSA also provided crutches for 2 elderly beneficiaries.

This empowerment effort was the response of MoSA to social problems in Kampung Bedeng as an effort to improve the welfare of the residents, with a total assistance of IDR 353,343,100.

Public Relations Bureau
Ministry of Social Affairs RI