Anyone care for a plate of 'tokek goreng'?<\/p>\n
Gin Kurniawan and Christanto Wahyu Widodo, Contributors, Nganjuk, East Java<\/p>\n
Many people consider the tokek (the large, colorful,loud,
\ntropical lizards sometimes referred to as geckos) -- as
\ndisgusting and frightening. But for some residents of Nglaban
\nvillage in East Java, the ever-present tropical reptile is viewed
\nas an income opportunity.<\/p>\n
Lured by the high demand for its meat - believed by many to
\nhave medicinal properties - dozens of people in this small town
\nhave taken up tokek hunting as their profession, which is the
\nalso the main reason why its numbers are rapidly decreasing.<\/p>\n
One of the main tokek hunters is Sudamin, a 43-year-old father
\nof two, who has become a successful businessman. He is running a
\nlocally acclaimed food stall offering tokek meat delicacies on
\nthe menu.<\/p>\n
"It's not bad at all (to sell tokek). Actually, it provides
\nenough income to feed my whole family," he told The Jakarta Post
\nat his residence.<\/p>\n
He had never thought before of becoming a businessman, let
\nalone a tokek seller. Now Sudamin is known as the one and only
\ntokek seller in Nganjuk regency.<\/p>\n
Before becoming a businessman, Sudamin was already hunting
\ntokek in his spare time after working as a mason.<\/p>\n
One day, he received a request from a businessman to collect
\nas many tokek as possible in return for cash payment. At first,
\nhe could hardly believe that there were people interested in
\nbuying them.<\/p>\n
"It's hard to believe that people really bought them," he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Every night Sudamin roamed the village, popping in and out of
\nthe villagers' homes looking for the 20 to 30 cm long creatures.
\nAnd after they became extinct in the residential areas, Sudamin
\nstarted searching in graveyards. And as time went on, he not only
\nsold the tokek he collected to his business partner in Kediri but
\nalso cooked some for sale.<\/p>\n
It was the starting point for Sudamin to open up his own
\nbusiness. Assisted by Winarsih, 35, he serves loyal customers his
\nspecialty, the crispy fried tokek and the delightfully delicious
\ntokek soup, at Rp 5,000 (US cents 50) per plate. Each dish comes
\nwith four fried tokek. Needless to say his restaurant is
\nstanding-room-only every evening.<\/p>\n
People consume tokek because most believe the reptile has
\ncurative properties for a variety of skin diseases.<\/p>\n
"After eating the meat, sufferers of skin ailments say they
\nwere cured of these ailments," Sudamin claimed.<\/p>\n
Now Sudamin buys around 5,000 tokek per day from his 15
\nhunters who live in neighboring villages. Each tokek is bought
\nfor a price of Rp 400. He then sells some of the tokek to his
\nregular buyer in Kediri, who later exports the product to China
\nand Korea in a powder form.<\/p>\n
Due to the intensive hunting, the tokek population in the area
\nhas drastically decreased and Sudamin has begun to worry because
\nhis supply has been steadily declining in the last few months.<\/p>\n
He used to be able to catch around 2,000 tokek every night but
\nnow he can only collect between 500 and 750.<\/p>\n
"The tokek are to afraid to come to this area. Their
\npopulation is drastically decreasing," he said.<\/p>\n
However, Sudamin refuses to quit the business despite the
\ncircumstances. To keep his business alive, he also roams
\nforested areas in Caruban, Madiun and Ponorogo. He even travels
\nto graveyards in the isolated village of Bojonegoro to scour the
\narea for remaining tokek<\/p>\n
Prime hunting time is between 7 p.m. and 1 a.m. every night.
\nAccording to Sudamin, the best time to hunt is during a full moon
\nwhen the skies are clear and there is a strong breeze<\/p>\n
"That's the perfect time because tokek usually come out."<\/p>\n
To bring geckos down from trees, Sudamin only relies on a
\nfour-meter bamboo pole with a hook at one end and a flashlight
\npowered by a 12-volt-car battery that he carries on his back. The
\nflashlight helps him in dense, dark forests.<\/p>\n
Since the nocturnal lizard's eyes glow in the beam of his
\nlight, he can readily spot them as far as 15 meters away and with
\ngreat dexterity he hooks them down from the trees.<\/p>\n
"You've got to be very quick and hook them down correctly to
\ncatch them."<\/p>\n
Sudamin said to retain its curative qualities, the hunters
\nmust keep the tokek alive. He refuses to buy dead or wounded
\nlizards.<\/p>\n
He said the best ones are those from the forest or graveyards,
\nwhich are usually black or gray-green with black spots, distinct
\nfrom their cousins living in residential areas, which are usually
\nyellowish white with purple or red spots. The black tokek seem to
\nbe stronger and can live longer after being caught, while the
\nresidential ones often die quickly while in captivity.<\/p>\n
Apart from the meat, tokek skin is also valuable. Sudamin has
\nalso become an expert at extracting the oil from dried tokek
\nskin.<\/p>\n
"This oil is extraordinarily good for burns and skin
\ndiseases," he claims.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/anyone-care-for-a-plate-of-tokek-goreng-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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