From Bali with love and some greenery<\/p>\n
Dwi Setyo, Contributor, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The aroma of patchouli was heavy in the air. The wooden hut
\nlooked very much like an unkempt museum. It was dark and murky
\nand no light came in from the window. It contained racks of
\nbamboo displaying marble white soaps, resembling the bones of
\nancient animals in an archeological exhibition.<\/p>\n
Six large fans spread fresh air and the aroma of perfumed
\nspices to the entire room.<\/p>\n
In the center of the room, surrounded by pans of wax, bottles
\nof spices, drums of honey and lots of soap, seven women were busy
\nwith the last process: packaging. The dried soap was wrapped in
\noil paper and labeled: Bali Asli (Bali Original). In thick carton
\nboxes, the organic soaps, made from local materials, were ready
\nfor delivery to customers, who had placed their orders in
\nadvance.<\/p>\n
For the past 15 years, Bali Asli has been a portrait of
\nenvironment friendly industry in Bali. Despite having enjoyed the
\nbenefits of the export market for some time, especially to Japan
\nand Europe, the soap factory on the slopes of Batukaru mountain,
\n75 kilometers from Denpasar, has not grown much.<\/p>\n
The slow snail-like movement is an analogy for its business
\ngrowth. The wooden hut, serving as the production center since
\nits establishment, has never been expanded. The dollars reaped
\nfrom foreign customers has not changed the equipment or attitude.<\/p>\n
However, for the past two years Bali Asli seemed ready to
\nbegin learning to run. The simple hut, remaining much like it has
\nbeen, is now more crowded. The racks for drying have grown in
\nnumber. So has the number of employees. Today, the rhythm of work
\nis more a little more hectic than a few years ago.<\/p>\n
Compared with its previous sales of less than 40 kilograms of
\nsoap per month, now for the past year the figure has skyrocketed
\nto an average of 200 kilograms. Instead of two employees, today
\nthe number is sixfold: 12 people. The factory also has a branch
\noffice in the Kuta resort area, functioning both as a display
\nshop as well as a warehouse.<\/p>\n
For the past three years, environment friendly industries have
\nstarted to grow in Bali. Apart from Bali Asli, which manufactures
\nsoaps, bread and jam without chemicals, one can also find Cafe
\nAndalan. The small restaurant in the art village of Ubud serves
\nfood which is organically-produced. All of the vegetables and
\nfruit served here are said to be chemical-free.<\/p>\n
But these are not the only companies getting on the ecological
\nbandwagon, a great number of chemical-free agricultural projects
\nare active on the island. One of the most prominent projects is
\nthe organic vegetable garden managed by a lecturer at Udayana
\nUniversity, Kartini.<\/p>\n
Previously this researcher had been famous as a producer of
\nvarious products derived from ground worms, such as those for
\ndecomposing garbage and producing cattle feed as well as food
\nsupplements. There is also PT Intaran Indonesia, which is
\nstarting a factory for chemical-free agricultural products, such
\nas fertilizers, pesticides and insecticides.<\/p>\n
This growing organic business trend could actually be much
\nlarger, as a great number of foreign tourists and expatriates
\nresiding in Bali should have lucrative market potential.<\/p>\n
These foreigners are certainly more aware of environment
\nrelated matters than the local people who prioritize price as a
\nnumber one factor during purchase. The prices of these
\nenvironment-friendly products are in fact not much different from
\nthe usual products. The Bali Asli soaps, for example, are sold at
\nRp 200 per gram, which is only 50 percent above the family soaps
\nadvertised on television.<\/p>\n
Then why is the business not moving smoothly? The main reason
\nis the undeveloped marketing style used for these Bali's green
\nproducts. Forget major campaigns, they have never even advertised
\ntheir products. \"We have to admit that we are not serious enough
\nin marketing,\" said Maya Pagandiri, the owner of Bali Asli.<\/p>\n
Bali Asli can well illustrate the weakness of organic products
\nin penetrating the market. Until now, Bali Asli has not even
\napplied for the registration number from the Health Department,
\nwhile this is actually the \"passport\" to the retail market.
\nWithout it, Bali Asli can only enjoy a word-of-mouth marketing
\nstrategy.<\/p>\n
The only green product player in Bali who is serious about
\nmarketing is probably PT Intaran Indonesia. This company
\ncertainly belongs to a different class when compared to Bali Asli
\nand Kartini. With billions of rupiah in capital, the company's
\noperation is no longer limited to the local scope, but covers the
\nnational market. On top of everything, the company's ambition is
\ncould almost be called revolutionary. \"We do not intend to sell
\ngreen products, but we want to change the dangerous agricultural
\nsystem which uses chemicals,\" said Teguh Roziadi, a businessman
\nin silverware who initiated and capitalized the company.<\/p>\n
The idea behind forming PT Intaran Indonesia was not purely
\nbusiness, but a concern for the current agricultural system. The
\nexecutives of the company are worried about the farmers who seem
\nto be addicted to using chemicals for their plants. The dangers
\nof the chemicals are not only that the residues harm humans'
\nhealth but it also greatly decreases the land's future fertility.
\nApart from that, the prices of fertilizers and chemical
\ninsecticides, which fluctuate with the dollar exchange rate,
\noften pose a serious threat to the farmers' income.<\/p>\n
After a three years of research, Teguh and his colleagues
\ndiscovered a solution: the intaran (neem) tree, a local plant
\ngrowing in abundance, which can replace the farmers' dependency.
\nThere is a lesson here, that can be learnt from other countries'
\nexperiences. In India, for instance, intaran is processed into a
\nsafe and low-priced natural insecticide, while in Australia and
\nEngland intaran oil is made into a mosquito repellent which is
\nfree from carcinogenic (cancer-causing chemicals), and even as a
\nshampoo for lice.<\/p>\n
Intaran is a pioneer plant which can grow even in the worst
\nconditions, on dry, rocky or sandy land.<\/p>\n
In Indonesia, this plant grows wild on the northern coast of
\nEast Java and on the eastern and northern parts of Bali. On the
\ndry lands of Lombok, Flores and East Nusa Tenggara, there are
\nperhaps hundreds of thousands of intaran trees. Until now, this
\nhidden wealth has been left untouched, except for its use as logs
\nfor fire for local people.<\/p>\n
Armed with a pressing machine donated by a German NGO, Teguh
\nand his friends embarked on their dream two years ago. They
\npurchased intaran seeds from farmers in Bali and Nusa Tenggara
\nfor between Rp 1,500 and Rp 2,000 per kilogram. Out of the 15
\ntons gathered, they were able to squeeze out 1.5 tons of oil and
\ntons of waste. Mixed with seaweed, rice husks and banana skins,
\nthe waste material was processed into a nutrient-rich compost.<\/p>\n
If Teguh had wished to go the get-rich-quick road, he could
\nhave taken a shorter route. He could have directly marketed the
\nintaran oil and compost. As an illustration, at Cafe Krakatau,
\nKuta, a 100 ml bottle of Australian made intaran oil fetches Rp
\n90,000. One can easily imagine the huge profits if only PT
\nIntaran Indonesia sold their product at half the price.<\/p>\n
However, since the very beginning, this was not the intention
\nof PT Intaran Indonesia. To fulfill their ambition of replacing
\nchemicals used for agriculture, they have to prove that intaran
\nfertilizers and insecticides are not only cheaper but also
\nsuperior in quality. So, in cooperation with several research
\nboards, they established a number of plantations for testing
\nstrawberry and tobacco in Bali and Lombok, oil palms in Sumatra
\nand vegetable plantations in Nusa Tenggara.<\/p>\n
So far, the outcome of these plantations have been
\nextraordinary. From the first crop of tobacco plants, the leaves
\nwere found to be larger, more dense and more aromatic than those
\nusing chemicals. But Teguh does not want to brag now, as the
\ntesting is yet to go through its final stages.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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