Aloe vera satisfies healthy, thirsty people
Aloe vera satisfies healthy, thirsty people
By Maria Goretti Tamen
PONTIANAK, West Kalimantan (JP): We know aloe vera as the
basic material in the production of good shampoos. It can also be
processed into an allegedly healthy beverage. In Pontianak the
aloe vera drink has found its way into the community. Some 60
booths selling the drink along Jl. Budi Utomo are perhaps an
indication of how popular the drink is among city dwellers.
Drivers of oplet (collective taxis), buses, taxis and other
people are regular customers at aloe vera booths in the Bumi
Indah Khatulistiwa housing complex on Jl. Budi Utomo.
"On busy days and under fortunate circumstances we earn
between Rp 50,000 and Rp 300,000 a day," said Ani, 34, a drink
trader in the area." On Saturdays and Sundays the sales are even
higher with families taking a walk and having a drink." Ani's
weekly net profit ranges from Rp 500,000 to Rp 700,000.
According to the traders the process of making the drink is
not complicated. Cut from the plant, an aloe vera stem is peeled
to harvest its solid flesh containing mucus. From this pieces are
cut to the desired size and washed with cool water to remove the
mucus. The pieces are boiled for 15 minutes, washed clean and
boiled again with sugar added. The syrup must be mixed with
water or ice for consumption.
One kilogram of raw aloe vera stems costs between Rp 1,000 and
Rp 1,500. Cut from the extracted flesh, the pieces weigh between
400 and 500 grams; enough for 4 or 5 glasses. The drink is sold
for Rp 1,000 per glass.
Generally the drink traders grow their own plants to reduce
expenses, a practice they say is not difficult. Fertilizer is
applied every three months, and the plants are weeded regularly.
New aloe vera plants are transplanted in order not to disturb the
fertility of the mother plant. Usually after one year the desired
substance can be harvested.
Apart from its refreshing quality, the drink is also believed
to cure many diseases. "There are 1001 kinds of benefits from
aloe vera as a medicine. It smoothes a small child's skin and
overcomes fever, gastric problems and kidney trouble in adults,"
Ani said, speaking like a Chinese medicine man. Fam Shin Fo, 69,
a Chinese medicine man living at Siantan Hulu, confirmed the
plant's properties.
Pontianak's Chinese community believe the aloe vera drink is
good for the health of women in advanced pregnancy and their
children; the hair of the baby to be born will be shiny black and
dense. Bamba, whose wife is six months pregnant, buys the aloe
vera drink every day for his wife, "so the birth of the baby will
be smooth."