Street Sweepers

sweeping water after a heavy rain

What comes to mind when I say street sweeper? A huge, noisy truck driving through your neighborhood with large rotating brushes, getting up close to the curb and leaving a perfectly clean street in its wake? Yeah?

Well, here in Bandung street sweepers are a more old fashioned sort. They are simply people who sweep the streets. And the streets are always filthy. It's ironic in a way. Indonesians have NO problem throwing trash on the ground, and do that as a habit. On the other hand, let a little breeze blow some leaves off a tree, and they are quickly out there sweeping up leaves off the street! They sweep their spaces - whether it be a sidewalk, the road in front of where they work or even the dirt ground. Yes, they even sweep dirt.



The first time I saw someone sweeping with one of these primitive type brooms (think witches broom) I was taken back by it since nowadays we use mostly synthetic brooms with plastic handles.

brooms for sale

We noticed when we visited Bali that even the school children carry their little brooms, which are nothing more than some type of thin reed or stick bound together by the same. Each child is responsible to sweep their own space as part of their daily routine.



 
This is Pak Johnny. His job is to sweep the street we live on. As far as we can tell.he lives in the tiny guardhouse with just enough room to spread out on a thin mattress. He always greets us with a friendly smile and wave, no matter how many times we are up and down the street in a day.


These hand made brooms (below) are made here in Bandung entirely from the coconut tree with the exception of the handle which is made of bamboo. The smaller hand brooms are made of coconut as well but simply tied in bunches. People use these all the time to sweep the ground. 

brooms n' things

broom salesman peddles his wares

kinda adds to the meaning of sweeping dirt