The Story of Durian Farmer Ketut Kari: Becoming a Transmigrant in Central Sulawesi, Generating Turnover of Rp 50 Million Per Month

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - Ketut Kari’s life journey as a transmigrant is now bearing sweet fruit. Starting from severely limited conditions when he joined the transmigration programme to Central Sulawesi in 1982, he has now succeeded as a durian farmer with a turnover reaching Rp 50 million per month. Kari recounted that he departed from Bali in 1982 without truly knowing the final destination. At the time, he was not yet fully mature and simply followed the available programme. “In 1982, I left Bali by ship, but I didn’t understand where I was being taken,” said Ketut Kari to Kompas.com in Palu, Central Sulawesi, on Thursday (16/4/2026). Upon arriving at the transmigration site, he had to face very limited conditions. Access to the location was still difficult, even requiring pickup by boat in the middle of the sea before continuing the land journey by cart to the settlement. Kari, along with hundreds of other transmigrants, temporarily stayed in a shelter for several months until simple houses were prepared. The environmental conditions at that time were also very minimal, with inadequate infrastructure. Prolonged dry spells prevented them from planting, while logistical rations were only provided for one year. “After the rations ran out, we once faced starvation because there was no harvest yet. To survive, we ate wild plants from the forest,” he said. That struggle lasted for several years until Kari finally began farming seriously. Initially, he planted oranges, but later switched to durian upon seeing better opportunities. He started planting durian in 1995 with an initial number of more than 100 trees. Several years later, the harvest began to appear, and by 2000, he was able to produce around two tonnes of durian. Nevertheless, challenges continued. Kari admitted to struggling to sell durian because the market was not yet familiar with superior varieties like Moutong.