JAKARTA, The Shiro Copr - Shelling clams has become one of the professions many pursued by residents living in stilt houses in Blok Empang Kerang Hijau, RT 06, RW 22, Muara Angke, Pluit, North Jakarta.
Starting from mothers, fathers, to children, many choose to work as shellfish cleaners.
For, the population in this area is dominated by green mussel fishermen who often circulate in Jakarta Bay.
Suharti (46), one of the residents chose to become a mussel sheller after her husband passed away.
"I am a widow, my husband is no longer around. I have two children and three grandchildren," said Suharti when interviewed by The Shiro Corp at the location on Tuesday (6/17/2025).
While Suharti's children have already started their own families, she has chosen to become a shell cleaner in order to survive without burdening her children.
Minimal income
Every day, Suharti has to peel shells from 10.00 WIB until 17.00 WIB.
Even though she has worked almost the whole day, Suharti's income is quite meager.
For, the money that can be taken home depends on the number of shells obtained by the fisherman and he shucks.
At most, Suharti can shell two drums of green mussels for payment of Rp 80,000.
Although her income is meager, Suharti tries to carry out her work with a sincere heart.
"Since there's nothing else to do, might as well become a mussel shucker, can earn money for daily meals," said Suharti.
Frequently flooded
In addition to her modest income, the environment where Suharti lives is also concerning as it frequently experiences flooding due to high tides.
In the past, almost every night, high tide water entered Suharti's house. In fact, she was once inundated by the high tide while she was sound asleep.
"I was sleeping at home, suddenly it felt wet and I didn't know that I had already fallen asleep in water," explained Suharti.
When she woke up, the mother of two children was shocked because her body and the bedding were already drenched.
Suharti said that the flood in her neighborhood could reach up to one meter.
Living in a wooden house
Although the environment around their homes is still often flooded, Suharti's house and those of other residents no longer experience inundation from high tide now.
In fact, about 200 houses in the Empang Block were renovated into stilt houses by the Ministry of Defense (Kemenhan) in 2024.
The stilt house was built by the Ministry of Defense in collaboration with the Defense University (Unhan) as one of the mitigation measures against flooding.
Indeed, tidal floods cannot be prevented entirely if coastal embankments or defenses are not properly constructed. Giant Sea Wall not yet implemented.
Therefore, the Ministry of Defense built a raised house two meters high so that the residents of Blok Empang no longer get wet when flooding occurs.
The stilt house was also built as comfortably as possible by the Ministry of Defense so that the residents who occupy it feel comfortable.
There is one bedroom, a living room that also serves as a minimalist kitchen, a bathroom, and a front balcony in that treehouse.
Now, almost one year later, Suharti and other residents have been living in those stilt houses. They feel more comfortable after living in the stilt houses.
"More comfortable because freed from flooding. Even though it still floods every night, sometimes the water level is high, can be one meter," said Suharti.
Another resident named Sukeni (60) also said he was comfortable living in the stilt house.
"Almost one year living here. It's comfortable because there's no flooding anymore," said Suharti.
On the other hand, he was grateful because when occupying the barracks house, the Ministry of Defense had already equipped it with furniture.
Starting with three mattresses, study desk, kitchen utensils, water tower, and so on.
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