Versatile 'Sibetan salak', Bali's premier fruit

Versatile 'Sibetan salak', Bali's premier fruit

Pariama Hutasoit, Contributor, Karang Asem, East Bali

If you ask anyone on Bali what the island's favorite fruit is,
the answer will certainly be salak, otherwise known as snake
fruit.

"Never leave Bali without tasting this sweet-and-sour fruit,"
said a farmer from Sibetan village, one of the island's well-
known salak-producing centers.

Sibetan salak is believed to have grown on Balinese soil for
450 years, surviving a harsh and dry climate. The trees mostly
grow in lowland areas and on mountain slopes.

Sibetan village is situated in Karang Asem regency, East Bali,
which is about 83 kilometers east of Denpasar. The village is in
one of the areas adjacent to the active volcano, Mount Agung,
which last erupted in l963. Back then, the hot ash, lava and
ensuing mud flows killed more than a thousand people.

But the eruption was a blessing in disguise for some nearby
villages, as it has helped sustain the area's agriculture.

The name Sibetan salak was adopted from the village of the
same name where the fruit was first cultivated.

Local villagers started to grow Sibetan salak in l980. There
are 14 species of salak plants, but only Sibetan salak -- with
its sweet and sour taste and dry meat -- has a high market value.

"We have grown 14 types of salak plants, 10 of which are of a
rare species," said Nengah Supharta from the Dukuh hamlet in
Sibetan village.

Each species of salak tree has different characteristics --
its taste, leaves, fruit shape and scent -- all vary.

Nengah said it was quite difficult to grow certain types of
salak plants, such as the salak nenas (pineapple snake fruit) or
salak kelapa (coconut snake fruit).

"By growing various types of salak plants, it is expected that
within four or five years, visitors will be able to taste rare
salak fruit," he said.

The majority of the hamlet's population of 427 earns a living
by growing salak. The hamlet has developed as one of Sibetan's
agrotourism centers.

Sibetan salak is a seasonal fruit. Farmers usually harvest the
fruit twice a year between January and March, and then between
August and September. During the harvest, a kilogram of salak
goes for between Rp 4,000 and Rp 6,000.

The abundant production of salak once depreciated the price of
salak at the local market. But thanks to assistance from the
University of Udayana's Agricultural Technology Research Center,
farmers at Dusun Dukuh are able to process salak into various
products ranging from a sweet paste and jelly to chips and wine.

The production of salak wine, sold under the Sibetan brand,
began in l999 with the support of the Wisnu Foundation, an
environmental non-governmental organization (NGO), and the
Agricultural Research Center.

"We are helping them in the production of wine, including the
tasting, bottling and hygienic processing of it," said I Made
Suarnatha, the chairman of the Wisnu Foundation.

The foundation also helps market the wine for local
consumption.

The Sibetan brand shows that the wine is produced by the
entire community. "They are the legitimate holders of Sibetan's
property rights. It is a kind of communal property rights,"
Suarnatha said.

In terms of quality, Sibetan wine is far from those produced
in France or Australia. "It will be a long learning process," he
said.

Sibetan wine, for instance, has eight percent alcohol compared
to the 12 percent that is usually required for a liter of wine.

"We have to develop a new formula if we want to increase the
alcoholic content," said Suarnatha.

At the moment, Sibetan farmers are struggling to obtain a
license from the Ministry of Health to safely market their wine.

Each product should be registered with the Ministry of
Industry and Trade and have a license from the Ministry of Health
for health and safety reasons.

Therefore, they can only market Sibetan wine within a limited
market.

"Instead of wine, we could write brem (Balinese alcoholic
beverage) on our label," a farmer said. "Sibetan wine has the
potential to be developed as a local wine that tastes the same as
wine made from grapes. But the production system has to be
improved to catch up with the current wine processing technology
in western countries," Suarnatha said.

In Bali, there are a number of locally made wines, including
Hatten Wine, produced from local grapes, and Indigo. Both brands
are widely marketed in Bali and other places in Indonesia as well
as abroad.

To open market opportunities for Sibetan farmers, the Wisnu
Foundation has set up a village tourism network, which comprises
four villages: Sibetan, Pelaga, Nusa Ceningan and Tenganan in
Karang Asem.

"By establishing the network, farmers from the four villages
can exchange and market their products among themselves," he
said.

Sibetan farmers still have a long way to go to get recognition
from local and international wine markets. But their tireless
efforts to improve their lives and promote their village will
encourage fellow farmers in other parts of Bali to do the same.