West Java's fragrant roots not as sweet as they used to be
West Java's fragrant roots not as sweet as they used to be
By Y.R. Prahista
BANDUNG (JP): Throwing his tattered hat angrily onto the
ground, Amin half cursed, "Akar wangi (a kind of fragrant grass)
farmers are dying. The price of the akar wangi oil has slumped,"
he said. "Just look around, do you see any processing plants that
are doing well?" he asked.
His eyes wandered around, looking for confirmation. In and
around Kampung Situhapa, Sukakarya village, Samarang, West Java,
there are five akar wangi distilleries. There were no signs of
activity at three of them.
Sukakarya is one of the areas which produces akar wangi oil in
Garut regency, West Java. It is located at an altitude of 800
meters above sea level and some 30 km southeast of the town of
Garut. In this region the fragrant grass plant is called usar.
Fields with the plants are widely spread, as far as the Kamojang
area east of Bandung.
Garut has been known for a long time as a region for the
production of akar wangi oil in Indonesia. The high quality of
the oil has raised the reputation of Java internationally. In
Dutch colonial times, Garut's usar oil was referred to as "the
Java Golden Vertier Oil".
These days it is exported to the U.S., France, Britain, the
Netherlands and other countries to be used as a raw material in
the production of cosmetics.
Although it was once a main export commodity, the akar wangi
plant causes erosion. The centers of the plant cultivation -- the
subdistricts of Leles, Samarang, Cilawu and Bayongbong -- are
located on the upper course of the Cimanuk River. Every year the
river, that empties into the Indramayu regency, carries away with
it no less than 25 million cubic meters of mud.
Akar wangi plants are considered one of the causes of erosion
in the upper regions of the Cimanuk River and of flooding in the
Indramayu region in the north of West Java.
Moreover, the akar wangi plant is greedy, devouring more than
its fair share of nutrient elements in the soil, which
accelerates the process of soil impoverishment. As a result,
since 1974 akar wangi plants have been banned from cultivation.
Akar wangi oil production levels have sharply declined. However,
using different cultivation techniques, the negative impacts of
the plant can be minimized.
Conscious of this, in 1990, the West Java governor and the
Garut regent issued decrees stipulating that the plants could be
cultivated again. However, the area was limited to 2,500 hectares
in the subdistricts of Leles, Samarang, Cilawu and Bayongbong.
In order to safeguard the environment, it was recommended that
the farmers use a terrace system to prevent rain water flowing
down from the upper regions with mud to the lowlands.
The fragrant grass grows on loose soil rich in nutrient
elements in regions at an altitude of more than 700 meters above
sea level. The plant needs one year before it can be harvested.
The method of harvesting is by uprooting the plant and cutting
off its fragrant root.
Oil is obtained by distillation in a large iron drum/stove.
The stove is made of iron plates measuring two meters high and
has a diameter of one and a half meters. In the dry season the
stove's contents weigh only one ton. If the grass is harvested in
the rainy season, the weight can reach one and a half tons.
Water content also affects the quality of the distilled
product. When the price is good, the quality of Indonesian akar
wangi oil declines because some producers mix the oil with
another liquid. "At the distilleries nobody mixes the oil," said
Udin, who owns a distillery in Sukakarya village.
The adulterating of akar wangi oil can be done because there
is no direct trade with the exporters. From the distillery, the
oil is collected by traders in the main town of the regency. It
is then resold to wholesale traders and only then is it collected
by the exporters.
Adulterated akar wangi oil has caused Indonesia's world-wide
reputation to decline. Once, even, Indonesian akar wangi oil
could not be sold in the market. The farmers had to bear the ill
effects of dishonest practices. Meanwhile, the number of
countries producing this fragrant oil has been on the increase.
Haiti, for example, is a tough competitor and the quality of
its oil is far better. The price of Indonesian akar wangi oil is
only half of that of Haiti, US$40 per kilogram against $80. Oil
from Borbon is even more expensive at $120 per kilogram.
The low price of akar wangi oil has affected the level of the
welfare of farmers and distillers in this region. According to
Sulaeman, an akar wangi farmer, if the price of the oil is good,
distillation of the oil is profitable. "The farmers also benefit
from it," he said. But now the price of akar wangi oil has
slumped to Rp 100,000 per kilogram. It once reached Rp 270,000.
In Garut regency there are about 1,800 farmers who cultivate
akar wangi plants and another 300 are engaged in oil
distillation. With the oil at Rp 100,000 per kilogram the
distillers get nearly nothing. "Just imagine," said Udin, "for
one distillation , the raw material -- one and a half tons of
usar grass costs Rp 450,000. Diesel fuel and wages amount to Rp
150,000, making a total of Rp 600,000. The yield is only 5 kgs.
There is a Rp 100,000 shortfall with each production."
Selling akar wangi oil is not difficult. Traders acting as
collectors of the oil also provide the working capital for the
purchase of raw material, the construction of the distillation
plants and the purchase of the stove, costing more than Rp 60
million. "We would not be able to provide the capital ourselves,"
he said.
However, as a result, the distillers can determine the price,
but cannot sell their product to other parties.