A Breakthrough in North Bengkulu

It never crossed in my mind to pursue business on fermented cassava. Starting from cleaning up oil palm land from overgrown cassava plants which some of them were sold, given to neighbors, and processed into chips, but there was a lot left. Then, I thought why not just process it into fermented cassava? Next, I watched a tutorial video on YouTube about how to make it. I tried at least four times to find the proper composition.

Well, I am Diana Sari, one of the participants of Stube HEMAT Multiplication in Bengkulu. I live in Argamakmur, North Bengkulu, a regency with more than 4.400 km2 dominated by oil palm, rubber, and other plantations cultivated by residents. Several factories process palm fruit bunches into palm oil. Apart from that, there is coal mining, and the tourist spot is at Kemumu waterfall.

From social media, I know that North Bengkulu is suitable for vegetables because the temperature is quite cool, but I feel unskilled to plant vegetables on a large scale. So, I gave up planting vegetables. Then in 2022, there was oil palm land to do and my husband and I planted cassava between the oil palm plants. It turned out that cassava is inappropriate because it competes with oil palms for the nutrients, and the oil palm can become thin. My parents, uncle, and other family told me the same. Finally, we stopped planting cassava, but the cassava that had been planted grew and was ready to harvest.

I still remember the first production of 8 kg of fermented cassava marketed for IDR 12.000 per kg with a gross profit of almost IDR 100.000. My husband was interested and convinced me to do some more to sell for other week. At that time I forgot about the prohibition to plant cassava, even I asked my husband to replant it instead. I thought people in my village responded normally, but on the contrary, many people like my fermented cassava. So, I designed better packaging and labels. Luckily, the request comes every week before I advertise it. I am very enthusiastic and my husband is also supportive. On the other hand, this business makes me feel worth and confident being an entrepreneur.

The production of fermented cassava needs cassava, yeast, and banana leaves for wrapping in container boxes. Thursday is the beginning of production, where I just have to wait at home, and the cassava supplier comes and brings them to my house at IDR 2.500-3.000 per kg according to conditions. The fermentation process lasted for two nights. Currently, I can process 20 kg of raw cassava to produce 15-17 pax depending on their condition, some are too mature or not good enough, so the sorting starts from washing, and fermenting to packaging. So, only the best-fermented cassava is marketed for IDR 10.000 per pax (750 gr).

Since I made fermented cassava, people have been inspired to plant cassava by asking for seeds, so the cassava cultivation has expanded and its production has increased. My mother-in-law does too. She planted among young oil palm trees covering an area of ¾ hectares. I accommodate the harvests so that she gets income from it. I market to neighboring districts in Argamakmur and Girimulya, even though people say I am losing money on gasoline, my husband advised that promotion and marketing costs money. Moreover, production costs can be reduced because the raw materials are easy and come from my farmland.

Even though at the beginning, there was a feeling of embarrassment and hesitation to market it, however, once it was produced, my husband rushed to market it. He also said that we must produce food without preservatives, colorings, or flavorings, so this fermented cassava is one of them. We have to try  to manage what we have and not to be overthinking, and the important thing is being tough. My message to young people everywhere is, don’t feel embarrassed to market your products, and to keep learning by willing to accept input from others. If you fail, you have to learn the failure and try again. Try, Learn, and Make it happen!***

I am so excited to return to my village because I want to practice what I have learned in Stube HEMAT Yogyakarta about local food. Stube HEMAT is an institution that accommodates students from various regions and campuses with diverse knowledge and skills provided to them so they can improve their skills. I also participated in several training themes, such as water problems, children's rights, marine economics, and other more. I call Stube HEMAT my second campus other than my college because I can get new other knowledge than from what I learned on campus.

I am Eufemia Sarina from Waerebo village, Manggarai Regency, East Nusa Tenggara. Waerebo is known as a tourist attraction in Indonesia and even internationally. Talking about Manggarai, coffee is its special icon. Is coffee the only local potency in the area where I live? It turns out there are various types, namely cloves, vanilla, orange, and cinnamon. Usually, residents process agricultural and plantation products for their consumption and sell them in the nearby city. From the insight I got at Stube HEMAT, I took the initiative to use local food, namely fermented cinnamon. This is my next step in practicing my skills in processing existing plantation products. I hope this fermented drink can become a souvenir drink for tourist visits besides woven and decorative accessories.

Cinnamon is a local spice growing in the hills around Waerebo. In general, people use cinnamon to add taste and aroma to food and drinks because of its distinctive aroma, and even as a preservative for food and drinks so they’ll last longer. The Waerebo people use cinnamon to add aroma to coffee and sell it in the city which sometimes the price is low. Hopefully, by processing cinnamon-based drinks, local communities get better economic value.

Fermentation requires materials and tools such as; fermentation jars or bottles, airlocks, filters, and cooking tools. Meanwhile, the ingredients needed include cinnamon, sugar, yeast and water. I boiled all the ingredients except the yeast, and then let it cool. Once it is cool, do the fermentation process using a fermentation tool and store it in a shady place. This process takes a minimum of three weeks. I started processing it in mid-October and it can be harvested in early November, precisely on November 4, 2023. I invited my parents and older brother to taste and to assess its taste. They admitted that it tastes quite good, fresh and warm on the body, suitable for places with cool temperatures. My father said, "This is so delicious, I have to learn so I can make it when Enu (you, for women - Manggarai language) goes to Java again. The important thing is information for the ingredients, how to prepare and to make it."

Even though the first production is considered delicious, it does not mean that my efforts in making fermented cinnamon beverages end here. They like and even support my work. I will produce it again as soon as possible and be able to market it. I hope the people in Waerebo will know about the potencies of local food and they will be interested in processing the existing potency as their income.

In Stube HEMAT I found enlightenment that young people must do something that brings good change in their local region. I hope that Stube HEMAT Yogyakarta will continue to empower students, both in Yogyakarta and other cities, and I even imagine that one day there will be a Stube HEMAT in Manggarai, or even in Waerebo. ***

Sarlota Wantaar, S.Pd.          

"Wake up at four o'clock in the morning, get ready to go to a neighboring village for school, for a better future, that's the struggle of kids in Ohoirenan, South Big Kei. Due to the geographical location of the village that does not support for school buildings, not every village has facilities of school building from elementary to high school."

I’m Sarlota Wantaar, an alumnus of Satu Atap Nerong, State Junior High School. I live in Ohoirenan, a village on the east coast of South Big Kei sub-district, Southeast Maluku regency, Maluku province. When I was in junior high school, my parents were not allowed me to live in a neighboring village, so I had to get up early to prepare for school, walking with friends three kilometers from the east coast of Big Kei to the west coast via the up and down hill trail. Now, I am back to serve my home school as a teacher after finishing college and developing myself in Yogyakarta. It turns out that after approximately 7 years I left, the current conditions are not much different, kids are still walking to school. So, do I.

Kids from Ohoirenan Village who attend junior high school must go to the neighboring village, namely Satu Atap Nerong State Junior High School. They have to climb up and down the hill through a rocky path to get to school which takes one hour non-stop. The touching heart is that most children are walking without wearing their shoes, sandals or other footwear, they only wear them after near school because they need them stay longer.

Sometimes if they are lucky, there are water cars or trucks leaving for the city in the morning and giving them a ride. The kids feel happy because they don't have to tire of climbing hills, however it is not every day the trucks pass by, so they are more often walking. When they come home from school, they pass the same road and arrived home in the afternoon. It makes them have no much time at home.

After the three years of junior high school, some kids successfully complete their education and continue to a higher level, even to college and successfully take job tests such as soldiers, employees and others. However, some kids fail to continue their studies for various reasons, such as limited money, early marriage and choosing to stay idle at home. Some of the successful experiences can motivate other kids at Satu Atap Nerong, State Junior High School.

There is an interesting thing when some kids go to school and bring some food during the break time. During that break they have time to sell the food because there is no cafeteria at school. The food they sell is made by their parents, such as rice wrapped-noodles rice and wrapped-fish rice, donut cakes, fried bread, banana chips, and candle-shape ice. The kids sell food at school to help their parents.

This is a challenge for me in Ohoirenan, how to motivate them not to give up easily and keep fighting. I can equip them with an understanding what they can do to develop creativity in addition to the knowledge they get at school, such as by processing the natural products around them. I believe that every effort must give the result. ***