Mark Plus assists villages

JAKARTA (JP): East Java Governor Basofi Soedirman has hired consultancy company Mark Plus to promote economic activities in villages in the province.

Soedirman said East Java had promoted rural economic activities, under a program called "The Return-to-Village Movement", for a year but the program had not been effective.

The consulting firm had visited several villages to observe production activities, quality management, packaging, promotion and the marketing of several main products, he said.

Herbs from Madura and leather handicrafts from Tanggulangin, Sidoarjo were the main products needing assistance from Mark Plus.

The herb had a well-known name but it was poorly distributed in markets, while leather products from Sidoarjo were of export quality but needed commercial brand names to make them more acceptable on the international market, he said.

"We are assisting and training about 2,000 craftspeople under the promotional program," Basofi said. (10)