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Tuti Winati lives in the shadow of the Wiyoto Wiyono toll road in North Jakarta. The roar of traffic is a constant in her neighborhood, Penjaringan, as is the sight of garbage, which Mercy Corps is helping residents turn into compost and recycled goods. Today, Tuti, 30, tells us about her shop, which sells compost and bags and clothes made from empty soap and coffee packets, life under an overpass and how to make something from nothing.

What did you do before you started working here? 
I worked at two pharmacies before I started making and selling compost and purses, aprons, handbags and accessories. Back then I was working for someone else. I always wanted to be able to work for myself and my family.

But why quit a steady job to sell compost and recycled plastic?

I wanted to do something to help the environment and myself.

Looks like you have quite the set-up here. What other products do you sell?

Well, like I said, we have the compost and the purses, which we make from empty folded instant coffee packets. The bags, backpacks and aprons are all made out of old soap packets. We even make handbags and key chains, all from recycled plastic.

How’s business?

Selling what we make here has helped me afford a nice house. Before, my husband and I could only afford to pay the rent on a three-by-three-meter house, but now we live in a three-by-six-meter house. My dream is to someday own my own house.

Who all lives here at the shop?

We don’t live here. We have another place. This is just where the shop is. My husband sells refilled gas cylinders from here too. It’s me, my husband and our three daughters. My oldest girl is in the fourth grade, my middle girl is in kindergarten and my youngest daughter is a year old.

Plus it’s a family business; you said your mom is part of the co-op that makes the compost?

Yes, and I used to work with my mom too, but I wanted to branch out and be on my own.

How did you learn how to make these bags and accessories?

At first I didn’t know what Mercy Corps was, but they work here in the community and they taught me and other people here how to make the bags and everything else from the empty packets. And they also taught us how to make compost using fruit and vegetables from the market that would have otherwise just been thrown away. There are about 25 of us that know how to make the smaller change purses, but I’m the only one who knows how to make the clothes, backpacks and bags from empty soap packets.

And you make dresses too?

Yeah, I made this dress myself and there are other pieces too, such as a skirt, and a vest for men, all made from recycled materials. I also make backpacks for the kids. It’s all part of the Tuti collection [smiles].

Isn’t Jakarta too hot for a plastic dress?

Not really. People around here could wear it when they go out or go for a ride on their motorbike. There were also some French people who came here and bought some dresses; they said they were going to use them as aprons.

Do people here on Jalan Bebek Raya ever buy the products themselves?

We sell about 350 purses a month. Those are mostly bought up by foreigners who give them away as gifts when they go back home. But here in the village, the kids buy the backpacks and people buy the handbags. The people who live here don’t buy the purses because they figure they can make them themselves.

How long does it take to make all your products?

A dress takes three days to assemble and sew together. The bags take about three days too. And the little purses take a few hours to weave together and assemble.

Weave together?

To make a purse you take an empty instant coffee bag and cut it into a few thin strips that are all the same length. And then you take four of the strips and weave them together in a circle to make what looks like a thick bracelet. Once you have a few bracelets you can glue them together and put a zipper on top and you have a small purse.

What’s next for Tuti’s collection?

Mercy Corps is teaching us how to make necklaces from straws, and they’re going to be nice. The necklaces will even have their own beads.

 

Tuti Winati was talking to Zack Petersen.