The taste of a chocolate bar

I just ate a bar of chocolate tonight. I liked it a lot. It was sweet and little bitter. Dewi bought it this morning for twelve thousand rupiahs or around 1 US dollar. I know that a lot of people like chocolate. It is a favorite past time snack for young and old. I don't eat chocolate everyday. Maybe you do it every week.

The price of a bar of Silver Queen chunky bar is getting more and more expensive but people keep on buying it. Silver Queen is a famous brand in chocolate business in Indonesia. I used to read in a blog that Malaysian conglomerate bought it. So, it is not an Indonesian company anymore. It's OK for me. In today's open economy anyone can have a company that is running overseas. That's the way the capitalism works.

Well, talking about chocolate and its rising price, I wonder if the farmers who grow the cocoa beans, the raw material for making chocolate bar, live a prosperous life from their cocoa farming. The price of cocoa beans in the world market has now been the highest one since two years ago. The soaring price of chocolate is caused by the inability of Gold Coast, an African state, to deliver the chocolate beans to the world market. Power struggle in the country creates political and economic instability. It seems that the situation in that country is not improving soon.

But Gold Coast is not the only country on earth that produces cocoa beans. Latin American states and South East Asian countries also produce significant amount of cocoa beans every year. With the soaring price of cocoa at the moment, the living condition of the cocoa farmers should be better. In fact, their condition remains the same.

I visited a village in Pami region of Manokwari West Papua. Farmers there did not harvest their cocoa. I tried to find the reason. Why they did not harvest the cocoa when the price of the beans is a record high for the past two or three years. Finally, I found out three reasons. The first was that their plants have been attacked by plant diseases; second the farmers did not have trucks to deliver their harvest to buyers in the nearest town; and the third was the price which the buyers gave to them was low.

There has to be a fair trade mechanism for cocoa beans in West Papua and other cocoa producer regions that ensure the cocoa farmers get a better price for the commodity they produce. We, as the customers, should tell the chocolate factory maker to apply a fair trade mechanism in every route of cocoa trading.

This is only my personal opinion. It is sad to see that the taste of a bar of chocolate which was delicious in my mouth was strongly bitter for cocoa farmers living in the mountainous region of Asia, Africa and South America.

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Canna Flower, an additional edible tuber for people

While I was walking around Sonder village, in Minahasa, the Province of North Sulawesi, I saw many kinds of flowers. One of them is Canna. Varieties of Canna have bright colours such as red, yellow, pink, and white. These flower plants are grown in the front yard of most of the villagers houses.

Because of these attractive colours, city dwellers who visit mountainous villages of Minahasa like to buy Canna flowers. Canna can be grown between 0 and 2,225 meters above sea level where the average rain is 1,120 mm per annum. The flowers bloom all year.

Actually, Canna is originally from tropical American continent but they are found in most tropical regions too.

I never see people eat tubers of Canna flower. I read a book entitled, "Hutan dan Kebun" on page 56 that young tuber of Canna is very good for babies and ill people. The starch can be digested easily.

In todays situation where the price of food is going up, Canna tuber may be considered as additional alternative staple food for people. Its leaves can also be given to livestock.

Tuber from Canna can be harvested when it has reached 6 - 10 months. The tuber may be eaten directly after boiling. If the starch is to be taken, it has to reach 15 - 18 months. For mass production purposes, a milling machine has to be used. In Kendal of Java island, Indonesia, Perhutani, a state owned timber company, grows Canna as insertion plants among the Jati trees. By doing this, the company has helped his employees (who are the local farmers) to get additional food resources from the forest without having to cut the trees. This was written by Charles Roring

Minahasa, an agricultural region

In December 2006, I was in Minahasa, North Sulawesi. I traveled around the region by car for one week. I visited Sonder, Tincep, Rambunan, Tanawangko, and Manado. I also went to Tomohon, Kawangkoan, Langowan, Bitung and Amurang. I saw most of the small towns of Minahasa, including Leilem, Woloan and Tondano. The scenery was beautiful.

A long the way, I could see farmers growing corn, rice, coconut and even Jati, Cempaka, Lingua, and Mahoni trees. Trees are cut when they have reached around thirty years old. The wood is then sold to furniture and pre-fabricated home companies in Leilem and Woloan.

In Kawangkoan, the farmers grew peanuts. Roasted peanuts are sold along the main road of the town. Tourists liked to visit this town to buy roasted peanuts, dodol, and halua (traditional cookies made of peanuts and palm sugar).

Roda Sapi di Minahasa

In Sonder, we could see many fish ponds along the river banks. In the middle of the town, businessman run restaurants which are built above the fish ponds. When we want to order fried or grilled fish from the menu, the cook or restaurant worker might ask you to choose the fish from the pond. So, the food that you'll eat is fresh. But Sonder is not only famous for its floating restaurants. In the past, it was famous for its clove plantation. Clove was harvested and sold to cigarette companies such as Gudang Garam, Bentoel, and Djarum in Java. Now clove is not the main commodity of the farmers.

Minahasa is an agriculture region. If we go to mountainous areas, we will see various kinds of farm land filled with commodities that are useful for the economy of the people. Most farmers raise pigs at the back of their houses.

Tondano is the capital town of Minahasa regency. Its is flat. In the suburb, we can see thousands of hectares of paddy field. The small town whose dwellers grow rice is Langowan.

Coconut trees can be found in the whole region of Minahasa. It has become the driving force of local economy for years. Wealthy farmers bring copra from their village to Bimoli factory by trucks or modified Toyota Hardtop. Traditional farmers usually ride pedati, a cow-drawn cart. Agriculture produce is brought from gardens to the market by pedati. Unfortunately, the number of pedati is getting lower replaced by modern trucks.

The soaring price of fuel oil may influence the farmers to use pedati again. It is considered cheaper but slower than a car. Pedati is also a good attraction for tourists who like to travel around the villages of Minahasa.

Well, I think it's enough for now. I will carry on my story about this region in my next article.

Also read:

• Birding Vacation in North Sulawesi
• Birdwatching Tour in Minahasa Highland
• Sahul Sunbird in Minahasa Highland
• Minahasa Beach and Great-billed Kingfisher
• Birds in Minahasa
• Birding in North Sulawesi
• Exploring the Natural Beauty of North Sulawesi
• Yellow-billed Malkoha
• Birding in Minahasa Peninsula
• Nature Tour in North Sulawesi 

Copra and Saguer Palm Trees are suitable as Bio-fuel

Coconut Fruits

In tropical areas, copra has been a traditional commodity for the villagers. Copra is the white flesh of a coconut (endosperm) which has been dried. When it is in dry form its color changes into dark brown. Farmers usually pick up the fallen coconuts in their garden.

After peeling of the coconut and cracking the hard shell which covers the endosperm, the farmer or copra worker will pry loose the meat of the coconut. Then he will dry all the endosperm under the sun. Sometimes the weather is cloudy and the optimum drying of copra cannot be achieved. To accelerate the drying process, farmers roast the hundreds of kilograms of endosperms by using shell and husk that are the byproducts of the coconut.

In intensive coconut plantation, the harvest is carried out every two or three months. For 9,000 up to 11,000 coconuts, a farmer can get between 1.5 and 2.0 metric ton of copra. One hectare of coconut trees can produce between 5,000 and 6,000 coconuts a year. They are equal to around 1.5 ton of Copra. One ton equals to 1,000 kilograms.

In the past, oil that was obtained after pressing the copra was used as edible or cooking oil. It was not competitive to make it as bio-fuel. The price of fossil fuel rises wheb there are military conflicts or terrorist attacks in oil and gas producing countries. 
This makes the bio-fuel produced from copra more competitive. Farmers can sell copra with better price and bio-fuel producers can sell bio-diesel in profitable price.

Kopra (dried coconut meat)

Coconut can produce sap which can be processed to make bio-ethanol. Before its blossom (spadix) changes into coconut fruits, a farmer cut it and collect its sap in a bamboo. Traditionally the sap is boiled to make palm sugar.

Besides coconut, there is also another palm variety that produces higher amount of sap. It is Saguer palm tree. It looks like coconut but they are different. Saguer tree is the local name of Arenga Pinnata (Latin) in Minahasa regency in the Province of North Sulawesi. When I travelled to this region, I was able to take pictures of the Saguer tree. For other region in Indonesia and other countries, people might call it Aren, Ampo and etc.

Aren tree

Saguer produces sweet sap which ferments fast. For palm sugar home industry, the container (usually bamboo) has to be washed to clean the yeast formed or produced by the saguer tree itself. The color of the sap or the juice is clear white. It is then boiled and stirred using small flame to make palm sugar. I haven't been able to present data about the production capacity for a hectare of saguer trees. Fermented Saguer sap contain alcohol which can be distilled to make bio-ethanol. This alcoholic drink has been banned in Manokwari, West Papua due to its negative effect in the community. Drunkards which drink the Saguer or Ampo often committed violence in the market or in their neighborhood. The utilization of saguer sap into bio-fuel can be considered as a positive alternative for traditional farmers.

So, in order to make bio-fuel, we do not have to depend on Sawit palm tree (Elaeis guineensis) which in certain regions of tropical areas are not a native palm variety. We can still produce bio-fuel by using native plants that will not severely damage the surrounding local environment. This was written by Charles Roring

Pig The Main Livestock in Sonder of Minahasa

Pigs in District Sonder of Minahasa Regency

Mother Pig was feeding a piglet

Besides growing clove, fruits, and vegetables, the villagers raise pigs in the pigpens at back of their houses. Pigs eat food leftovers from households, edible tubers and coconuts. Sometimes, farmers give them special processed food for pigs bought in livestock shops. This business can be considered as savings for the household which gives them additional income when the price of agricultural commodities is low.

Usually, when the sow is in labor delivering the new born piglets, the owner will suck the piglet's nose to take out mucus which blocks its respiratory system. Doing this, the farmer can reduce the mortality rate of newborn piglets. It takes five to six months before the pigs can be harvested.Usually farmers don't slaughter the pigs. When they want to kill a pig, they will use a small sharp spear and stab it into its heart. When it has died they will pour hot water on its whole body and begin shaving its hair. After cleaning the skin, they will cut and weigh the pork into pieces. Today, instead of pouring water all over the pig's skin, they use a special burning device to burn the pig's hair. It is faster than shaving.

Most of Minahasan restaurants offer pork contained food in their menu lists such as sate babi, tinoransak, babi putar and babi kecap, and etc. Minahasan eat pork, because they are Christians. The consumption of pork is higher during Christmas season.

Also read:

• Birding Vacation in North Sulawesi
• Birdwatching Tour in Minahasa Highland
• Sahul Sunbird in Minahasa Highland
• Minahasa Beach and Great-billed Kingfisher
• Birds in Minahasa
• Birding in North Sulawesi
• Exploring the Natural Beauty of North Sulawesi
• Yellow-billed Malkoha
• Birding in Minahasa Peninsula
• Nature Tour in North Sulawesi