Under the candlenut trees in Galam Village, Bajuin District, Tanah\nLaut Regency, South Kalimantan, ripe fruit is left to fall before being\ncollected by farmers for drying.<\/p>\n
Previously, the community sold the fruit in its raw state. Now, they\nare gradually paving the way towards processing and wider markets.<\/p>\n
This change did not happen overnight. The Chairman of the Batu Kura\nForest Farmer Group (KTH), Mashudi, still remembers when candlenut was\nhandled traditionally. After harvesting, the fruit was boiled to make it\neasier to process, and the shells were opened one by one because\nmachinery was not yet available.<\/p>\n
The price of bulk candlenut, ranging from Rp3,000 to Rp4,000 per\nkilogram, meant that harvests did not offer many options for farmers.\nDuring that period, some candlenut trees were quickly felled after\nfruiting, and the community still practised shifting cultivation.<\/p>\n
Progress began after the Batu Kura KTH obtained legality in 2017 from\nthe Ministry of Forestry and received support in 2019 through the Forest\nInvestment Programme. This included a 6x6 metre production house, a\ncandlenut cracking machine, a freezer, and other supporting\nfacilities.<\/p>\n
The production house has since doubled in size as the farmer group\nhas progressed, while the cracking machine, which has a capacity of\napproximately one ton per hour, has drastically reduced labour that was\nonce done manually and took weeks or even months to complete.<\/p>\n
Candlenuts that fall from the trees are collected by farmers and then\ndried for about two days until completely dry before being stored in a\nwarehouse, where they can last for about one year. Before processing,\nthe candlenuts are frozen for eight to 12 hours to reduce the risk of\nthe kernels cracking when the shells are opened.<\/p>\n
The cracked results are then sorted by hand into whole candlenuts,\nchips, and fragments or \u2018coral\u2019, each of which has a different price.\nFrom approximately one ton of bulk candlenut, around 290 kilograms of\nprocessed candlenut is produced, with whole candlenuts priced at around\nRp45,000 per kilogram, chips at Rp40,000, and fragments or coral at\napproximately Rp32,000 to Rp35,000 per kilogram.<\/p>\n
For Mashudi, this change means that candlenut is no longer merely a\ngarden product to be sold raw immediately after harvest. Processing\nprovides the farmer group with the option to store raw materials, adjust\nsales timing, and produce products with higher value.<\/p>\n
Raw candlenut is moving towards value-added processing.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/candlenut-downstreaming-increases-income-without-deforestation-1789703900", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }