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| Rudiat has bought around 3,500 books since he started working more than two decades ago. (Photo by= Jumari Haryadi) |
[Asia News = Reporter Reakkana] JAKARTA: It was 6am and the sun had just risen in Pasirhuni village, West Java, but Rudiat was already busy sorting out many books, CNA reported. The tofu seller placed dozens of books in two boxes at the back of his motorbike, along with another box containing bundles of tofu. He then headed off to several villages in the rural Cimaung district.
Selling tofu has been Rudiat’s main source of income for the past decade or so. However, he regards spreading literacy as his life mission. When he visits his customers in the villages, the 43-year-old also lends them books. “I bring books which suit them. If I go to a village where the majority of my tofu customers are farmers, I will bring along books about farming like how to raise ducks.
Although he earns about 1.5 million rupiah (US$105) per month, lower than West Java’s minimum wage of about 1.8 million rupiah, he has always set aside 2.5 percent of his income to buy books. Initially started as a small personal initiative, Rudiat’s efforts have since won him a group of loyal readers. These days, a few dozen people would convey their reading preferences via text messages daily, before he is scheduled to visit their village the next day.
