The Orderly Dalem Kaum Street

This is what Dalem Kaum Street looks like now: green and more orderly.

Not long ago, this street in the center of the city was notorious for its crowded and chaotic look. Unruly street vendors known locally as 'pedagang kaki lima'(PKL) occupied both sides of the streets and the sidewalks making the already dense and narrow street congested, dirty, and unsightly.

The revitalisation of the street was part of our new mayor's program to regulate more stringently the city's street vendors and make the city cleaner and more orderly.

This banner at the end of the street reminds everyone that it is against the city's regulation to buy from street vendors in this area. This banner reads:

"It is forbidden to buy from street vendors in the red zone." The fine for violators is 1 million rupiah (about US $80).

Garbage Recycler at Work

A middleman collector sorting out garbage for recycling in his small workshop in West Bandung.

Unlike in developed countries, garbage recycling is a labor extensive business in Bandung and in Indonesia in general. Recyclable garbage -- that with plastic, metal, or glass components -- is collected from homes or the streets by traveling scavengers. These scavengers typically sell their 'harvest' to a middleman who then sell them to a wholesale collectors. These wholesale collectors do the sorting, cleaning, and packaging before selling it to the recycling factories.

The government is not involved in the process. Everything is done by individuals and private entrepreneurs. Garbage recycling is a big business that provides a source of income to many who are involved.

Twin Boats at Situ Ciburuy

Two row boats that look like twins parked by the side of Situ (lake) Ciburuy in Padalarang, West Bandung Regency.

I have previously posted another photo from this lake here.