Tuti Mardiati, seamstress in Kali Tirto village, Sleman

Life has been delightfully challenging for the family of 28-year-old seamstress Tuti Mardiasi of Kali Tirto village in Sleman district, about 2km east of Yogyakarta’s Adi Sucipto airport.
She and her family moved to their new house in February 2007, a T-Shelter semi-permanent house provided for them by the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
“We’ve just moved from the makeshift tent to this new house, and we’ve started our new small
business, too,” she says. “We’ve been very busy, anxious and ecstatic, all at the same time.”
Tuti has started to sell gasoline in bottles shortly after they moved in. She says profi t gained
from gasoline sales is still smaller than the amount she earns from sewing, which is also still in its recovery stage following the quake.
“Many people still can’t spend much after the disaster,” she says. “But I’m sure business will pick up again soon. Our new house sits strategically by the main village road, a good exposure for my stall.” The stall where she sells her bottled gasoline is nothing more than a wooden rack that stands right next to the house’s front door.

Above the rack she hangs a large blue-painted sign board that advertises her sewing services. Tuti is very proud of her new 3x6 meter one-bedroom, cement-and-vinyl-fl oored and bamboomat-walled house. Tuti and her husband, 28-year-old Prasetyo, who works at a local animal husbandry, fi nished building the house using materials mostly provided by the IOM. “It feels good to have your house built with your own hands. Not with our money, of course, as we don’t have much. We can’t thank God enough for sending his blessing through IOM,” she says. Tuti, Prasetyo, and their 8-year-old son Agung had lived in the house of Prasetyo’s mother for the past few years. But her mother-in-law’s house was destroyed by last year’s quake. “My husband and I were so frustrated at that time. But, look at us now. We now live in our own home sweet home. Even better, we have now set up a new home business. Isn’t that amazing?” she says.

She and Prasetyo plan to live in their T-Shelter for at least the next two to three years. “We hope we’ll have enough money to convert this house into a permanent one by then.”