“Now I know why my business did not work. I didn’t keep all the expense notes and I had no idea of the actual cost for bricks that I produced. I didn’t count the cost of labor that I did myself or of the clay that I source from my land.”Mr. Yunis
In July 2013, Build Change held trainings for brickmakers in Lubuk Alung, West Sumatra, Indonesia. Our goal was to train these small businesses to make stronger bricks and to improve their business skills. Stronger bricks are essential to making local houses earthquake-safe. Strong bricks make safe homes.
Sixty-five people attended the training. Just over half of the participants were women. We conducted trainings at their properties for their convenience.
The first section of training regarded how to improve their brick quality. The second covered the importance of examining production costs, followed by practical instruction on how to keep simple expenses notes.
This bookkeeping will help them better plan their business expenses, since there is fluctuation in the demand for bricks over the course of the year. Many brickmakers fall into debt because of these fluctuations, combined with the drying time required between making bricks and being able to sell them.
“Now I know why my business did not work. I didn’t keep all the expense notes and I had no idea of the actual cost for bricks that I produced. I didn’t count the cost of labor that I did myself or of the clay that I source from my land,” said participant Mr. Yunis.