Bone Bolango - Since the afternoon before dusk, a number of food traders have occupied wombohe (huts) made of bamboo, neatly lined up on a large area of land on the edge of the road with a ditch that flows clear water on both sides of the road.
The vendors are locals from South Huntu Village, South Bulango Sub-district, Bone Bolango Regency. They held a menu of Gorontalo specialties, ilabulo, yellow rice, binte biluhuta or milu siram, tiliaya, bubur sada, apang colo, popolulu, kalakala, and sabongi.
All the cakes are made by the residents themselves, including the raw materials from their own region. Generally, the ingredients are bought at the local market or even obtained from their own gardens.
This is the Ambuwa Market that is routinely held on weekends at the initiation of a number of Gorontalo artists and activists. Every event is always anticipated by residents, especially young people. At each event, there is a musical performance by the art community. Sometimes it is filled with discussions or blood donations.
"There is no plastic waste in Ambuwa Market, we like to come," said Sheptiani Rusmaningtyas, a resident of Leato Village, Gorontalo City, Saturday (27/4/2024).
Shepti, the nickname of Sheptiani Rusmaningtyas, admitted that she always tries to make time to come to Ambuwa Market if there is a schedule. Not only does she miss the local food, but the location has also become a hub for Gorontalo's youth. There she can meet and greet with art activists or others.
Before entering the Ambuwa Market arena, visitors are treated to a warning in the form of cute caricatures not to bring single-use plastic packaging, plastic straws, Styrofoam containers, and aluminum foil.
In front of the bamboo gate even hangs a sign that reads "Since entering the location, all are people." The writing emphasizes the egalitarian attitude adopted by the organizers and visitors of Ambuwa Market. All humans are equal.
Visitors who enjoy their food can use pandanus mats to lesehan on the green lawn, while enjoying a number of musicians and singers on the Bantayo Pomata stage which is the center of the performance.
All food is served on woven stick plates, wrapped in banana leaves. In this market, there is no plastic wrap or other non-biodegradable materials. The market organizers are emphatic about not adding to the Earth's suffering with waste that takes thousands of years to decompose.
"We provide free drinking water, visitors only need to bring a tumbler," said Julianur Husain, one of the Ambuwa Market managers.
Julianur explained that this Ramadan, Ambuwa Market offers an iftar package. The package for three people costs Rp75,000 for a menu of apang colo, chicken porridge, stuffed tofu, cold milk coffee, yellow rice, kampung chicken rice, balapis, popolulu and pretty sweet cake.
There are also larger packages. This iftar menu package is most popular with young people or families who want to enjoy the rural atmosphere at Ambuwa Market.
Julianur said, entering the month of Ramadan, the level of public consumption actually increases. This means that the waste generated also increases. He also invites residents to think about the waste so that it does not become a common problem.
In Ambuwa Market, according to Julianur, to eliminate plastic waste, residents must be able to get used to not using plastic packaging.
One of the charms of Ambuwa Market is its musical offerings. Young musicians are present as an oasis amidst the dryness of quality art performances in Gorontalo.
Wahyudin Rajak, a musician from the Posuara Creartivespace group, often performs at this market. "When we play at Ambuwa Market, we are paid with pieces of shell for shopping there," said Wahyudin.
Wahyudin admits that he does not participate in mentas for the sake of money, but rather to network with fellow artists.
In the arena, Wahyudin offers a variety of musical colors, but he admits that his musical performances also depend on the abilities and conditions of other musicians. "Sometimes it's serious, sometimes it's casual," he says with a smile.
Wahyudin explains that the shell pieces he receives are a medium of exchange at Ambuwa Market. All visitors who want to shop must exchange money for pieces of shell which will later become a transaction tool with the sellers. One piece of shell is exchanged for Rp6,000. In this transaction, traders only provide one or two pieces of shell.
After playing music, Wahyudin and other artists will use the pieces of shell to shop at the wombohe according to their menu choices. For him, hunting for food with pieces of shell is a memorable experience. The same goes for other visitors.
Local artists are not the only ones performing here. The Bantayo Pomata stage is also a showcase for other artists. Even Ami Yokoyama, a violinist from Sakura Japan, has performed there.
Not only music, this place is also an alluring showcase of fine art. In fact, in another part, there are paintings featuring three prominent Indonesian figures, namely K.H. Abdurrahman Wahid or Gus Gur, Ahmad Syafii Maarif, and Pramudya Ananta Toer. Inside the house, which serves as an art studio, countless artworks are displayed, even in the warehouse, a number of paintings are also piled up.
The history of Ambuwa Market began in 2018, when it was called the Traditional Culinary Parade in conjunction with the Ma Ledungga Rice Harvest Art Festival, which takes place every May 10-12.
A year later, the Traditional Culinary Parade changed its name to the People's Art Market (PSR) which is held every week in December, when the rice harvest art party takes place at that location.
In 2020 to 2021, Covid-19 broke out. PSR changed to Pasar Seni Warga (PSW) because most of the sellers in this market are women from South Huntu Village. PSW takes place every Sunday morning in September and December 2020, and in January, February, March 2021.
"After a long pause due to the PSBB implemented by the government, on November 26-28, 2021, PSW was held under the name Pekan Studio Pangan Warga. It will continue in January-April 2022, held twice a month on Saturdays," said Julianur.
From May 2022 to September 2023, the managers agreed to use the name Ambuwa Market. Ambuwa in Gorontalo language means 'gathering' or 'together'. The word 'ambuwa' is also a contraction of the word 'buwa' which means 'woman'. This is in line with the phenomenon that all sellers in the market since 2018 until now are women and mothers from South Huntu Village.
The organizer of this market is Huntu Art District (Hartdisk), a cross-field community engaged in fine arts, performance, literature, environment, culture, and local food.
The harmony of the Ambuwa Market organizers does not mean that there are no obstacles. Julianur revealed that there are still visitors who do not understand the rules during the activity, namely not bringing disposable plastic bags, or food containers that can cause waste, such as styrofoam, mica, straws, and others.
"The concept of this Ambuwa Market is to gather and be together. There is interaction, some buyers order through online applications. This is what we have not approved because the provision of containers or plastic bags is a must for ojol," said Julianur.
He emphasized that Pasar Ambuwa is driven by the spirit of volunteers who change and are evaluated every three to six months. It is a challenge to engage the volunteers while educating them about the environment. (mcgorontaloprov/InfoPublik.id)