Banyumas residents eat clay for medicine and food

By Agus Maryono and Ngudi Utomo

BANYUMAS, Central Java (JP): It may sound strange to hear that in desperate, some people eat snacks and take medicine made of clay. This is a fact in many villages in Banyumas. Some people living in the villages of Binangun, Kalisube, Sumpiuh, Pasinggangan, Kaliori and Suro went through an experience recently of their predecessors when they began eating roasted clay, which they consume as snacks. Also, the clay they cook -- called ampo -- is made into alternative medicine for a number of ailments.

Is this the impact of a suffocating monetary crisis on the villagers? Perhaps. In the past seven months the number of people eating ampo has been on the increase.

Saliem, 70, a villager in Kalisube, say: "Actually ampo has been known in Banyumas for a long time. Perhaps because of the crisis, more people now eat ampo."

Saliem who has been making and selling ampo for more than 30 years at a traditional market, said her turnover of the snack has more than doubled.

"Formerly, not more than one basket of ampo was sold in one week. Now it is finished within one or two days," she said.

She said most people use ampo as a medicine. "Ampo is medicine against a stomachache, jaundice, diarrhea, etc. It helps to preserve one's youth."

She said that she inherited the business from her parents. Initially, ampo was taken only by pregnant women in Banyumas. "Because of its sepet (astringent) taste, the women liked to take it to chase away the nasty taste of nausea during their pregnancy," she said, adding "They continued eating ampo until the seventh month into their pregnancy."

Subsequently, ampo became a snack popular with the village inhabitants, not only in Banyumas, but also in some other places in Central Java, including Yogyakarta. It also served as medicine for children.

"Ampo sells well, especially now when medicine at clinics is very expensive. One package of ampo costs only Rp 100," said Saliem, promoting her merchandise.

"As a snack, ampo is usually served with a cup of hot coffee with brown sugar," Saliem added.

The more people who look for ampo, the better it is for her business because Saliem is the only person in Banyumas to make and to sell it. Saliem said that in the 1970s, there were still many ampo makers and sellers. In the market, there were at least four people who sold it. "In the 1980s, I still had a colleague in the same trade. Then she died after a sickness. Now it seems I am the only one left," Saliem said.

It is not difficult to turn clay into ampo. But not any clay can be used for the purpose. For Saliem, the clay must be clean and ripe. "Ripe means the clay must have a pale white color. To get this kind of clay, one must go to a certain depth when digging. Since the time of our ancestors, the clay that is made into ampo is found in the Kalibagor region, Banyumas. The clay there is ripe as well as clean," Saliem said.

When Saliem has obtained the clay, she prepares the rather wet substance for pounding with a pestle and a mortar while removing stones and pebbles from the clay. Then she leaves the clay to dry. When it looks dry, the lumps of clay are roasted in an earthen stove.

The process does not end here. After roasting, the clay is dried again. "The drying of clay after roasting is different from the first drying because the aim is to take away some of the scorched smell." It is during the drying that Saliem cuts the lumps into pieces. "These pieces are ready to be consumed. They are ampo," said Saliem displaying some.

Saliem usually obtains clay by buying it from a landowner of the type of soil suitable for ampo. She usually gets the clay cheap.

"I buy the clay without any measurement like other commodities. I pay Rp 1,500 for as much clay as I can carry," said Saliem, who is strong enough to carry one gunnysack of clay. It also depends on how much ampo Saliem wants to produce. "If I cannot carry the clay, I hire a pedicab. If the pedicab transports two sacks of clay, I still pay the landowner Rp 1,500."

One sackful of clay yields one basket of ampo. "I can get about Rp 10,000 for one basket of ampo," she said.

The local health agency's pharmacy unit chief, Sony Arsono, said the consumption of clay-based medicine can be hazardous to a person's health because it contains a large quantity of bacteria and worm larvae.

"Although the clay is roasted, there is no guarantee the bacteria is dead because certain types of bacteria occur at certain temperatures. Considering that ampo is not packed (only wrapped in plastic), I suspect there is bacteria in ampo," Sony said. He said bacteria only dies at 40 Celsius degrees.

"Perhaps the people who have consumed ampo and remain healthy, have strong antibodies. But maybe those who look healthy are not really healthy. If we check them, there may be a disease because of ampo," Sony added.

In fact, there are also people who consume the clay without it being processed into ampo.

Martoyo, 58, of Kalibagor village, who owns a plot of land of clay, Saliem's hunting ground, said he often eats his clay although it has not been processed into ampo.

"There is nothing strange about it. For a long time we have known this type of clay is used for medicine. So, although it has not been made into ampo we are used to consuming it," Martoyo told the Post.

"It does not taste different from ampo. There is only a slightly scorched taste to ampo because it is roasted. As for its taste of sepet and tastiness, it is the same," Martoyo added.

Kalibagor villagers consume clay at certain times, only when they have a stomachache or suffer from diarrhea. "As soon as you show signs of diarrhea, eat clay. The stomachache will stop," Martoyo said. "But do not take any type of clay without a clear place of origin. The pale white clay in this area has the property to cure a stomachache," he added.

Even more remarkable is that this clay can also be used to cure nostalgia. "Some people here take this clay when they travel. When they are homesick they just eat from the clay and the feeling of nostalgia will vanish. People here have known this for a long time," Martoyo said.