Mentaya Sweet, the sweet one who takes care of the forest

29 May 2019

Mediation documentation travel notes.

“The main thing is that we look for those who make people busy and produce first, they will not enter the forest by themselves”, Hirason told about the beginning of Mentaya Sweet, organic coconut sugar produced by the Coconut Sugar Training Center, Basawang village, Teluk Sampit, Kotawaringin

Rows of coconut trees in front of the houses of residents of Basawang village, Teluk Sampit, East Kotawaringin

Coconut sugar is actually not a new product for the people of Basawang village, which is located in the bay of Sampit, nor for the people of neighboring villages located downstream of the Mentaya river.

Rows of coconut trees along the side of the road and small rivers will greet us if we visit the villages in Sampit Bay, downstream of the Mentaya river. It is an abundant raw material for the manufacture of coconut sugar. Armed with the male mayang (flower bunches) from the coconut tree, the community traditionally processes it into coconut sugar to be sold in markets around Sampit Bay. In addition to making coconut sugar, the community also processes it into copra. Sugar, copra and also selling fresh coconuts are their livelihood.

However, the story of coconut sugar is not as sweet as the taste, because the selling price of coconut and copra is unstable, the community also has other alternative livelihoods, some are loggers and also work in oil palm plantations.

Not far from this village, the ecosystem restoration concession of PT. RMU otherwise known as Katingan Mentaya Project (KMP) operates. KMP has a big dream to reduce the rate of deforestation and support sustainable development in Kalimantan. The activity of clearing land for both trees and plantations certainly hinders the realization of this big dream.

Is Hirason Horuodono, staff of PT. RMU, who saw the potential of this original Mentaya coconut sugar, became one of the bridges for that big dream.

Hirason Horuodono, KMP staff who accompanies the organic coconut sugar production program in Basawang village when talking about coconut sugar to the mediation documentation team.

“The main thing is that we look for those who make people busy and produce first, they will not enter the forest by themselves”, Hirason told about the beginning of Mentaya Sweet, organic coconut sugar produced by the Coconut Sugar Training Center, Basawang village, Teluk Sampit, Kotawaringin

The process of making organic coconut sugar at the coconut sugar training center.

KMP established a Coconut Sugar Training Center in Basawang Village in 2018 to train local communities in producing quality, preservative-free and market-worthy organic coconut sugar. The target is to train around 550 participants by 2020. To be sustainable, KMP also assists the community in marketing their products according to the standards introduced by the Coconut Sugar Training Center through cooperatives.

The coconut sugar farmer cooperative accommodates and markets organic coconut sugar products from the community who have been trained at the training center.

This activity is expected to create new jobs for the community without having to open blinds again. With this, the sweetness of coconut, will continue to exist as long as the forest tree cover is maintained.