Saturday, November 29, 2008

Colors of The Street # 3: Lanterns



These colorful hand-made lanterns (lamp shades) are sold at the road side of Jalan Cilaki (Cilaki Street) behind Gedung Sate, Bandung.

The young guy who owns this mobile road side kiosk and sells these lanterns says that he used to work for a bank before the 1998 financial crisis when he was forced to take a very early retirement because the bank had to downsize the number of its employees.

His lantern business began as a hobby. Now that hobby has turned him into an employer employing about 15 young people from his neighborhood. He says he's happier now because not only can he make a decent living from this small business of his, he can also help others who need job.

You might wonder how much these colorful lanterns (lamp shades) cost. Depending on the size, design, and material, they cost somewhere between 15,000 to 250,000 rupiahs (about 1.3 - 20 US dollars).

What can we learn from his story?
Skills, creativity, and entrepreuneural spirit are very important in times of crisis.

9 comments:

Catherine said...

"In time of crisis", or not.
According me, it's really important to do one's best to developp that creativity.
Even if I don't get enough creativity, watching and learning from people who have some is rewarding.

Does it mean there's a financial crisis every 10 years ? I had best not smiling about that, but ... it was tempting.
See you at Monochrome Monday, maybe.

Horsoon said...

In a time like this with the economy crisis looming, one has to be creative and resourceful to survive, eh? Wish I had some skills of sort too, so I won't be so worrying...

Layrayski said...

nice photo, story and message eki! =)

Unknown said...

Very eye-catching! Great colours.

Anonymous said...

Behind any difficulties there is relief...that makes some people in Indonesia keep survive...just like the elder says "If there is a will, there is a way"

Anonymous said...

Sometimes when one doors closes, another opens. He will probably live a longer and more stress free life doing what he loves to do..

Diederick Wijmans said...

This could have been a perfect choice for December's theme: circles and spheres! Lovely colours.

Line said...

I love lanterns, the colors the joy!!

Anonymous said...

Beautiful colors and great story behind the image.