Ethnophoto

Mahdalena sits on the wooden floor in the jasmine-scented living room, preparing Kembang Barenteng, a flower decoration for religious offerings and cultural ceremonies. Mahdalena and her family have been running Kembang Barenteng business for four generations. Almost all cultural ceremonies in the Banjarmasin area, from weddings to funeral services, use these Kembang Parenting arrangements. It […]

Albainah has been crafting “tanggui”, a circular traditional hat made of palm leaves, since 1992 from her wooden house in Kalimantan. Each tanggui that she makes is a unique artisan product. The distinctive patterns of her tanggui pieces are sold between IDR 5,000 (US$ 0.32) and Rp10,000 (US$ 0.64) and they are much cherished by

Supported by Amartha’s funding, celery farmer Zora and her mother enthusiastically work in the garden under the burning midday sun. The garden surrounding their family home has been a vital part of their lives for over five years. With the working capital she received, Zora has transformed an abandoned plot of land into a productive

Elmiyarni, a dedicated plant nursery owner from Solok, has been running her business for the past two years. Patience and perseverance are the keys to Elmiyarni’s success in producing high-quality plant seedlings. Accompanied by her husband and sometimes her children, they work together to prepare plant seedlings in containers measuring 95 x 63 cm with

Since 2019, Muniarti has been making spicy chips made of yam or “talas” from her home kitchen. From behind the fryer pans, she supervises production as her four workers prepare the materials, from peeling, washing, cutting, and frying the sliced root vegetables. Every cooking cycle produces 150 kg of talas chips, which are subsequently sold

Nestled in the valley of the West Sumatran mountain range, Yasmah grows her onion farm. Previously worked as a migrant worker in Jakarta for years, Yasmah decided to return home to Solok West Sumatra in 2019 as she wanted to live close to her big family. With the support of working capital from Amartha, she

This is a 20-meter-long stretch of semi-permanent stand belonging to Amartha Partner Asmawarni, who sells a variety of fruits on the street side of the trans-Sumatra. This fruit business has been run by Asmawarni since 1991, and she has persevered through many challenges to keep it going and even grow it. True to form, Asmawarni

Tya owns a mini gas station and grocery store right in front of her house, painted in all white color. She and her children take turns greeting customers who visit her mini gas station and the mom-and-pop kiosk. At one point in her life, Tya was a rice farmer and daily worker in a plantation.