Jakarta, IO – A Delman (horse-drawn carriage) coachman takes care of his horse in Kampung Delman, Buaran, Jakarta (19/5). Aside from being used as a means of transportation, delman is also popular with tourist, especially near the East Flood Canal (KBT) area.
Delman village in Buaran is home to around 40 horses and dozens of coachmen who depend on this profession for livelihood. In this dirty and shabby urban village, their daily routine is to bath the horses and remove their manure so the horses remain clean and healthy.
Iqbal, 26, has been in this profession for a long time. He mainly caters to tourists, working from morning to evening. His income is not steady, ranging from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of rupiah per day, depending on the number of tourists who use his service. He also uses portion of his income to buy horse feed.
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“Sometimes business is good, sometimes slow,” said Iqbal. “But, this is my job, and I have to keep doing it and take a good care of these horses.” Even though Delman village is situated in the middle of a modern and bustling city of Jakarta, people still maintain their simple, traditional way of life.
(IO/Faisal Ramadhan)