Buyers swarm around Sugiyo's sugar
Buyers swarm around Sugiyo's sugar
Ade Tanesia, Contributor/Yogyakarta
Coconut sugar, or gula jawa as it is locally called, is popular
among Javanese people, especially Yogyakartans who are said to
crave sweet food.
From slum areas to crowded traditional markets to
supermarkets, the commodity can be purchased virtually anywhere.
It is even cleverly packaged and sold as souvenirs at some of the
city's star-rated hotels.
People who want to cook with it, however, buy the
traditionally processed coconut sugar at the market, as it is
much cheaper than the souvenir sugar or the type sold in snack
stores.
A cone-shaped or temple-shaped block of coconut sugar about
the size of a child's fist, for example, could cost the same as a
kilogram of traditionally shaped sugar. The sugar is cheaper
still if you buy it direct from the producers.
One of the coconut sugar production centers in the province is
Penggung hamlet in Hargorejo village, Kokap subdistrict,
Kulonprogo, some 40 kilometers west of the provincial capital of
Yogyakarta.
A kilogram of coconut sugar of medium quality is sold for only
Rp 2,000 here, while the same amount of super-quality sugar costs
Rp 3,000 a kilogram. In supermarkets, a kilogram of high-grade
sugar is sold for over Rp 4,000 per kilogram.
This condition inspired Sugiyo, 49, a coconut sugar producer
in the hamlet, to think of other ways to market his sugar. About
three years ago, he started to produce what he calls gula semut
in reference to its ant-sized granules.
"I was also inspired by the old saying Ada Gula Ada Semut
(wherever there is sugar, there are ants) in giving it the name,
hoping that the product would attract a swarm of buyers," Sugiyo
said.
Since then, business has been good and orders from regular and
incidental buyers have flooded in.
In a month, he can produce up to six tons of gula semut. And,
due to his clever marketing strategies, a 100 gram bag of gula
semut sells for Rp 2,000, while a 200 gram bag of gula semut is
sold for Rp 4,000. It is mostly marketed in major cities of Java
island.
"I no longer produce the traditionally shaped sugar blocks.
Actually, I often buy them to use as raw material for my gula
semut," said Sugiyo, adding that, thanks to his business, he has
been able to renovate his house, making it one of the best in the
neighborhood.
Making gula semut is not much different from making gula jawa.
Both are made of nira, a white sap obtained by tapping the
inflorescences of the coconut tree.
To turn it into sugar, the nira is first strained to remove
dirt, then boiled until it becomes syrupy. It is then poured into
a mold, usually made from half the husk of a coconut, and is left
to harden. After it is removed from the mold, the coconut sugar
is ready to sell or use.
In making gula semut, however, the boiled nira
is not simply poured into a mold. Instead, it is stirred and
strained and dried so that it forms granules.
Sugiyo has experimented with the sugar to make it more
attractive to consumers. He mixes it, for example, with ginger,
turmeric, temulawak (another kind of turmeric), greater galingale
(kencur), and galingale
(lengkuas).
"It tastes delicious and is good for the health," he said,
adding that he had obtained a letter from the local health office
verifying the healthful properties of his product.
Sugiyo claims a mixture of gula semut and white turmeric or
kunyit putih (white turmeric) can be used to treat cancer
patients or people with kidney problems.
Coconut sugar is believed to be more nutritious than sugar
extracted from sugarcane. It contains calcium, phosphor, iron,
and even protein and fat, which are not present in sugarcane
sugar. That is why coconut sugar is believed to be beneficial for
people suffering from calcium deficiency.
"To prevent osteoporosis you don't need to drink milk. You can
just eat coconut sugar. It's cheaper," Sugiyo suggested.
Unfortunately, he said, many people prefer to use sugarcane
sugar for their daily needs, mostly because of the dark color of
coconut sugar, which is often seen as dirty.