Firms struggle in wake of Indonesian quake

A man works at a pottery workshop in Bantul, Indonesia, on May 20. About 95 percent of enterprises in the worst-hit regions of Bantul south of Yogyakarta were partially or completely destroyed, a recent World Bank report into last year's devastating earthquake showed. PHOTO: AFP

Pottery Ariyati looks over the clay jars, vases and animals crammed into her small workshop in central Indonesia and fears for her future.

Since last year's devastating earthquake, she has been diligently trying to ply her trade in tiny Kasongan village whose artisans have a proud history of fine ceramic and terracotta goods.

But her brick oven was smashed in the 6.3-magnitude quake, which laid waste to villages on the main island of Java, leaving the 47-year-old mother unable to finish her handicrafts and meet the demands of her customers.

"Earthenwares which are not dried in an oven can only be sold at a very low price," said Ariyati, whose husband died several months ago.

"It's difficult to rebuild my business," she added.

In the 12 months since the quake, the UN and other agencies have revived small traditional industries such as pottery, weaving and furniture production for more than 4,000 households in the worst-effected areas.

But the scale of the tragedy, with 5,778 people killed and almost 140,000 homes destroyed on the main island of Java, has meant assistance has not reached all of those affected.

About percent of enterprises in the worst-hit regions of Bantul south of Yogyakarta and Klaten to the northeast were partially or completely destroyed, according to this week's World Bank report into the tragedy.

Between to 50 percent of small businesses are not fully repaired 12 months later, and funding from governments and agencies to help all of them recover has fallen short, the bank says.

Many the business owners who have resumed operations have gone into debt to meet costs -- such as reconstruction of buildings and replacement of ruined materials and equipment.

"Key funding gaps remain to compensate for losses to the private sector and in health and education. More than half the affected businesses have still not recovered to their full pre-earthquake sales levels and unemployment has risen substantially," the report says.

In another workshop in Kasongan, Painem sits on a low wooden seat carefully moulding a pot. She too is worried about her future after borrowing 20 million rupiah from a bank to rebuild her workshop that was shattered in the quake.

"It's a lot of money and I'm living on credit with a high rate of interest," she said, adding that she handed over her land ownership certificate as a guarantee for the loan.

"I used the money to build a brick oven and to buy materials," she added.

Others more optimistic that, despite their losses, they can recover. Gondo Sunarno, 65, and many others in Mlese village in Klaten have been given funds from a World Bank-managed fund to rebuild their homes.

Sunarno with that financial burden lifted, he can concentrate on rebuilding his business of making and selling a local variety of rice snacks called krupuk karak, a venture he shared with his wife before she was killed in the quake.

"I'm sure my wife will love the idea," he said.