Only in Indonesia: A Man Who Lives in His Becak

Tukang Becak

Life can be seen differently by different people. For Edi, a man who works as a becak driver, life is lighter and simpler if becomes a becak driver. His definition is against the belief of common people in Indonesia. Become a becak driver is not easy. First, this kind of transportation is not popular anymore. Only one or two people use it. Everybody chooses simpler and cheaper transportation available online as a bike and car from Grab. Secondly, it is inhumane to use becak during the fasting month. The driver will be too tired and too hungry to paddle the becak. The last, becak driver offers different fare to different people. If the customer looks like from high economic family, the fare goes high.

Edi loves being a becak driver as life becomes peaceful, he admitted. He stays separately from his wife and children. His family lives 25 kilometers away from where he works. He meets once in a week with his wife, it is on Thursday night. It is called an obligation night. A night when a husband must show care and love to his wife. Then he will return to his becak. He literary lives in his becak. All his belonging is put in a box under the place where his customer usually sits. To fulfill his basic needs, hygiene, and else, he takes advantage of the government building called DKC.

Living in becak is far from comfort. Yet, for Edi, living in becak is the most comfortable life. To start the day, he can buy a cheap breakfast just across the street. Then, he helps the fruit seller to move his cart and he gets Rp. 15.000 (1.04 USD).  Edi will sit in his becak wait for his customer. He said that he gets 3 or 4 customers on average per day. It is common to pay Rp. 20.000 for one trip, so in a day, Edi earns 5.54 USD. All that money should also be shared with his wife and children.

Why being a becak drive becomes Edi's choice. He argues that he is a boss for himself. No one asks him to do this or that, including his wife. He has been living in his becak for 5 years and he enjoys that. He becomes the one who decides when to work, when to sleep, and when to eat. Besides that, he plans to continue to live in his becak because he does not hear any complaints from his wife nor children. He is only focused on working.