Arid land in Bangunkerto turned into 'salak' orchards<\/p>\n
By Ridlo Aryanto<\/p>\n
SLEMAN, Yogyakarta (JP): If ever you are in Bangunkerto
\nvillage, Turi subdistrict, Sleman, some 17 kilometers north of
\nYogyakarta, you can let your eyes feast upon the ubiquitous snake
\nfruit trees, or salak pondoh. One estimate has it there are some
\nthree million luxuriant salak pondoh laden with fruit around the
\nvillage.<\/p>\n
It was not until 1988, however, that the Bangunkerto villagers
\nrealized there was a great demand for the fruit, which is one of
\nthe most popular oleh-oleh (souvenir) for people visiting
\nYogyakarta.<\/p>\n
The farmers can demand a high price for the fruit, favored for
\nits sweet, crisp, white flesh. Realizing the fast-growing demand
\nfor salak pondoh, Bangunkerto villagers began to work seriously
\nto turn arid land, where cashew plants were previously grown,
\ninto productive salak pondoh orchards.<\/p>\n
\"This village has over 15 hectares of salak pondoh orchards,
\n75 percent of which have yielded fruit,\" said Subardjo, one of
\nthe village's community leaders.<\/p>\n
As the fame of salak pondoh has traveled far and wide,
\nreaching Malaysia, Singapore and even England, more and more
\npeople, from Indonesia and abroad, have come to this village
\nsimply to see the salak pondoh and pick the fruit, a trend that
\nArifin Ilyas, the then regent of Sleman, seized to promote
\nagrotourism in Bangunkerto.<\/p>\n
\"Back in 1992, there was a five-hectare plot of barren and
\nunproductive land belonging to the village administration. After
\na long discussion with the local administration, Sleman regency,
\nthrough its tourism service, turned the land into a tourist spot
\noffering sweet and crispy salak to visitors.<\/p>\n
\"Over one million salak pondoh have been planted in this area,
\nin the middle of which there is a fishing pond as well as
\nfacilities for water sports for small children. The management of
\nthis tourist spot has been left entirely to village officials,\"
\nsaid Arifin Ilyas, who retired in 2000.<\/p>\n
The year 1995 marked not only the first harvest of the fruit,
\nbut also the official opening of this area for agrotourism. As
\nagreed, the management was left to local institutions.<\/p>\n
\"You only have to pay Rp 1,000 and you are free to enjoy the
\nsalak pondoh. You can also visit a snake fruit museum, where you
\ncan see a collection of Indonesian snake fruit varieties,\" said
\nSubardjo, adding that even the world-renowned Bogor Botanical
\nGardens could not compare with the museum in this village in
\nterms of its collection of salak varieties.<\/p>\n
Tired of walking around the salak pondoh orchards? Pay another
\nRp 1,000 and you can ride around the artificial lake located in
\nthe middle of an orchard.<\/p>\n
Your visit to Bangunkerto will not be complete unless you
\nenjoy salak picked right from the trees. For this, you have to
\npay Rp 3,5000 per kilo of salak that you pick yourself. While
\neating the fruit that you have just picked is its own attraction,
\ncareless picking will cause the rest of the fruit on the tree to
\nrot.<\/p>\n
\"This is really a problem because a visitor is usually tempted
\nto pick the largest fruit on the upper part of the bunch. Picking
\nthe fruit this way will cause the other fruit in the bunch to
\nrot,\" said Prayitno, one of the tour guides in this salak pondoh
\norchard.<\/p>\n
Tour guides have been employed in this salak pondoh orchard
\nsince 1997 to provide information about the varieties of salak in
\nthe museum and to help visitors pick the fruit correctly. A
\nguide's fee usually depends on the number of salak picked.<\/p>\n
Unfortunately, there are not enough salak pondoh for the
\nnumber of visitors coming to this agrotourism spot. On weekdays,
\nthere are only dozens of tourists but on Sundays or holidays
\nthousands of tourists visit. To solve this problem, there has
\nbeen an arrangement since 1998 to send visitors and their guides
\nto villagers' gardens, Subardjo said.<\/p>\n
He added that thanks to this arrangement, both the village
\nadministration and the villagers benefited from the agrotourism.
\nTourists will first enjoy the facilities provided at the
\nagrotourism spot and then go to villagers' salak pondoh gardens
\nto enjoy the sweet and crispy fruit.<\/p>\n
Prastowo, one of the villagers, said that prior to the harvest
\nthey set the price at Rp 5,000 per kilogram of fruit, while the
\nprice is Rp 3,500\/kg in the tourist spot.<\/p>\n
He said that it was often the case that many visitors, despite
\nthe presence of their guides, would pick the fruit they desired
\nby themselves, therefore making it more likely that the fruit
\nleft on the tree would rot. Hence the higher price to make up for
\nthe risk, said Prastowo.<\/p>\n
Nina, who was visiting from Bandung to try the sweet and fresh
\nsalak, said there was more satisfaction in picking the salak by
\nyourself.<\/p>\n
Salak also make a good souvenir and locals sell the fruit
\nalong all the routes taken by public transportation vehicles.
\nWhen there is a good harvest of salak, usually from January to
\nApril, the fruit costs between Rp 2,500 and Rp 3,500 per
\nkilogram, but in other months the price can double. Large salak
\nof \"super quality\" will cost you Rp 5,500 to Rp 6,000 per
\nkilogram all year round.<\/p>\n
How do you get to Bangunkerto? If you start from the Yogya
\nMonument in Yogyakarta, go straight ahead for 17 km before you
\ncome to the Ngablak crossroads. To the east of Ngablak you can
\nfind the gate to this salak pondoh agrotourism spot. You can also
\ntake a different route using public transportation, which will
\ncost you Rp 1,000. Whichever route you take, you can enjoy the
\nuniquely green landscape at the foot of Mt. Merapi, an active
\nvolcano still belching out lava and becoming increasingly more
\nexotic.<\/p>",
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