Earning forex with coconut fiber<\/p>\n
By Bambang Tiong<\/p>\n
YOGYAKARTA (JP): Coconut husk fiber used to be ignored because
\nit wasn't considered useful. It was mostly used simply for fire
\nwood, mats or sofas. But thanks to one person's creativity, it is
\nnow capable of yielding foreign exchange.<\/p>\n
Johny Susanto, 37, and a Yogyakarta resident, has succeeded in
\nmaking a breakthrough in making good use of coconut husks; he
\nturns them into colorful flowers.<\/p>\n
\"Coconut husk has in fact a high-potential. The only thing is
\nit needs to be processed efficiently and presented in an
\nattractive way,\" said Johny, a craftsman who has been in the
\nbusiness for a year and a half.<\/p>\n
He says there are plenty of souvenirs that can be produced
\nfrom coconut husks. But his experience taught him that imitation
\nflowers were the most popular. This made him decide to only
\nproduce the flowers, such as sunflowers and lotus flowers.<\/p>\n
The idea to create souvenirs from a cheaper material came when
\nhe was walking along Yogyakarta's main drag Jl. Malioboro,
\nlooking at the various costly souvenirs offered by the sidewalk
\ntraders. A few days later, he accidentally saw a few pieces of
\ncoconut husk lying in a garbage can. After looking to his left
\nand then to his right, ashamed of being seen, he picked up the
\ncoconut husk and took it home.<\/p>\n
Since then, Johny, whose batik business collapsed due to the
\nmonetary crisis, has found a life again.<\/p>\n
With an initial investment of no more than Rp 100,000, he
\nbought 500 coconut husks from the Wates area for Rp 50 a piece.
\nThe price has now increased to Rp 100.<\/p>\n
He then made various imitation flowers from the coconut husk.<\/p>\n
At first, he only sold his works to a limited amount of
\npeople: his friends. Unexpectedly, others people, including
\nsouvenir vendors, also ordered his flowers.<\/p>\n
He then increased his production and is now being assisted by
\n30 workers, each of whom produce 20 large flowers (lotus and
\nsunflower) and 75 small flowers (orchids) a day. These days, he
\nproduces at least 600 flowers a day.<\/p>\n
He pays his workers -- 80 percent of them housewives and the
\nremaining 20 percent women living in his neighborhood -- based on
\nthe quantity of flowers produced. Each of them receives Rp 500
\nfor making a big flower and Rp 250 for a small one.<\/p>\n
Johny said his workers train for around 10 days to two weeks
\nto acquire the necessary skills. After mastering the techniques,
\nthey are then given the material to work at home. The flowers are
\nthen delivered to him by the workers the next morning.<\/p>\n
One of the workers, Winarto, 29, confirmed that earlier he
\ncouldn't make coconut husks into imitation flowers, but learned
\nthe skills in the training period. Now, he proudly claimed he had
\nmoney to buy himself food and cigarettes.<\/p>\n
Process<\/p>\n
Before the production process, good quality coconut husks must
\nbe found.<\/p>\n
According to Johny, the coconut husk must be old because it
\nhas the right texture, durable and the finished product will not
\nwrinkle easily. The hard skin of the coconut must first be peeled
\noff so that only the husk is used.<\/p>\n
When making a flower, the coconut husk is split into eight
\nparts, and each part is later divided into three. Thus, a coconut
\nhusk produces 24 sheets depending on the size of the flowers with
\nan average thickness of four millimeters.<\/p>\n
To avoid wrinkles, the old coconut husk is then dried in the
\nsun for a number of days to reduce its water content. But the
\nhusk must not become too dry. \"If it is too dry it is difficult
\nto form the flower's sepals,\" Johny explained.<\/p>\n
The sepals are then colored using food colorants in accordance
\nwith the color of the flowers. The next step is arranging the
\nsepals into a whole flowers and a stem using glue. The stem is
\nmade of bamboo or rattan, is 50 cms long and has a diameter of a
\nbaby's little finger.<\/p>\n
Agel thread, which is made of flax (rami), is then used to
\ncover and strengthen the joint between flower and stem, while the
\nstem is also covered with a banana stem to give it a natural
\nlook.<\/p>\n
Each flower's crown is made out of chips of coconut husk
\nobtained from leftovers from the making of the sepals, and some
\nleaves glued to the stem. The flowers' leaves are made of corn
\nleaves. A coconut husk can produce two or three flowers depending
\non its size.<\/p>\n
The imitation flowers are sold for between Rp 1,000 and Rp
\n2,000, and have now reached big cities like Jakarta and Surabaya.
\nSome are even exported to Europe and the United States.<\/p>\n
Although Johny has to produce many flowers, he finds no
\nproblem since the raw material is always there.<\/p>\n
\"Coconut fiber is no problem. My problem is that I cannot cope
\nwith filling the orders,\" said Johny, whose monthly turnover now
\namounts to Rp 75 million with around 20 percent profit.<\/p>\n
His customers usually place their order, pay for it and the
\ngoods are then delivered. Johny prefers to send his flowers by
\ntrain since it is assured they will remain intact.<\/p>\n
\"The export of my goods is handled by a colleague in Jakarta,\"
\nhe said.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/earning-forex-with-coconut-fiber-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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