Harmony in Nature

Together, Poros Nusantara Utama (PNU) through one of its business unit, which is called Poros Nusantara Utama Jawa barat (POROS JABAR) and the farmers live in harmony with the nature around.

Always trying to manage the natural resources without pesticide and any chemical fertilizer, to produce high quality products.

Monday, October 9, 2006

Partners



HPSP - Horticultural Partnership Support Program

http://www.ina.or.id/inaweb
The Horticultural Partnership Support Program is an initiative of a tripartite partnership which includes the Dutch development co-operation organizations Cordaid and Agriterra and the Royal Netherlands Embassy in Jakarta. The HPSP aims to promote partnerships between small farmers and entrepreneurs in the horticultural sector of Indonesia. The program will support small and innovative projects that are aimed at improving production, processing and marketing of horticultural products in Indonesia through partnership agreements. more detail ...


CBI - Centre for Promotion of Imports from Developing Countries
http://www.cbi.eu
We at CBI are inspired by contributing to trade-led economic growth and the resulting reduction of poverty in developing countries. Our desire is to strengthen the economic relations between these countries and Europe. Our ambition is to be a professional and practical coach, a source of inspiration, and an insider on the European market. Our business is to share every piece of knowledge we acquire concerning business opportunities, regulations, markets and technology with companies in developing countries.


IPC - International Pepper Community
http://www.ipcnet.org
The International Pepper Community is an inter-governmental organization of pepper producing countries. The Community now includes Brazil, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Sri Lanka and Vietnam as full members and Papua New Guinea and Hainan, China as an associate members.


GAPMMI - Gabungan Pengusaha Makanan dan Minuman Indonesia
http://www.gapmmi.or.id
GAPMMI sebagai wadah pengusaha makanan dan minuman Indonesia berusaha memberikan masukkan kepada anggota, pemerintah dan masyarakat tentang peraturan pangan, pengolahan pangan dan lain-lain yang berhubungan dengan pangan, baik bahan baku maupun hasil olahan.

Thursday, February 9, 2006

Koperasi Tanaman Obat Jawa Barat
( West Java Medicinal Plants Cooperative )


A. Background
Along with farmer groups around Halimun Salak and Gede Pangrango National Parks, PT Poros Nusantara Utama dan Perkumpulan Telapak, established a cooperative called ”Koperasi Tanaman Obat Jawa Barat”. The cooprative is aimed to organize scattered farmer groups in Salak, Halimun, Gede and Pangrango Mountains area.
The cooperative was established as a mean to build up an equitable, transparent and strong farmer's organization through a joint production planning and system. The uniformity action of the manufacture sytem of time after rice harvest is meant to gain maximum quality standard and ally marketing jointly in one cooperative marketing office.
This matter is caused by shown experiences when they work on their own, they were managed by brokers. they have no capability to influence product price whether because of unfulfilled volume, the weaknesses of investment issues, minimum technology of time after rice harvest issue, or the limitation in having access of medicinal plants marketing information.

B. Activity Focus
Currently, the medicinal plants cooperative is focused on cultivating and trading ”kidney/Java tea” (Orthosiphon aristatus/stamineus benth ), ”Kacip Fatimah (Labisia pumila)”and ”Rosella” (Hibiscus sabdariffa). The products are sold in dried form as raw material for drugs for domestic trading only.
In the long term, the cooperative will develop other kinds of medicinal plants like ginger, wild ginger, nutmeg etc. The cooperative will conduct medicinal plant manufacturing and having a factory of drug basic commodity and spices manufacture until capable to produce the basic commodity into well-used product.
In the trading issues, the collective cooperative PT Poros Nusantara Utama. will expand the export trading to the market abroad.

C. Institutional Cooperative
Koperasi Tanaman Obat Jawa Barat was established in 2002. Established and owned by the entire members of farmer. nowadays, the cooperative composed of 400 farmer families around Gede Pangrango and Halimun Salak mountain range area, with more than 80 hectares worked land. Some of farmer group who have merge into the cooperative are: Kelompok Tani Mandiri Ciwaluh village; Kelompok Tani Lindung Harapan Tapos village, Kelompok Tani Mekar Karyasari village and Kelompok Tani Genteng & Cibilik village.
The legal status of this cooperative is still being processed. Koperasi Tanaman Obat Jawa Barat has an address on Gedung Alumni IPB, first floor, jl. Pajajaran 54 Bogor- West Java.

D. Organization Structure
Koperasi Tanaman Obat Jawa Barat (West Java Medical Plant Cooperative) established with a work system which is divided in to 3 main parts:

1. Production Division: its directly relating with the member in making planting planning, maintenance, post harvest holding, manufacturing, warehousing, packing until the product ready to be sold. production division operated by primary cooperative that is formed in each farmer group or in one area that near one another. there are 3 primary cooperatives in farmer group's level, they are Ciwaluh, Genteng, Cibilik, Karyasari and Tapos.

2. Marketing Division : its responsible to the production result marketing, communicate with the buyer and buyer candidates, promoting in case of marketing expansion and development. marketing division operated by central office.

3. Management Division: its conducting managerial activities including administration, finance and the development of organizational matters. Management division is operated by central office.

Following diagram explains the organization structure of West Java Medical Plant Cooperative.




E. A glance About Farmer Group
E.1. Kelompok Tani Mekar Kampung Gunungsari Desa Karyasari-Bogor
This farmer group is located in Karyasari village, leuwiliang, Bogor. a buffer Zone of northern Halimun – Salak National Park. Tani Mekar is established on 1989, composed of 36 farmers. At the moment this group establised, its conducting paddy seed distribution, fertilizer and medicinal. Most of lands that they are working on belong to forestry more or less 80 hectares.
The succes story of this group is in tea, rubber and clove cultivating. Nevertheless, the change of market and the weakness of management, just few of that superior product left nowadays. until this moment, this group almost does not have enough significant activity.
Main income for this group are from agriculture and plantation. The characteristic of paddy agriculture is very subsistence, it means that all harvest that they can get is used to fulfill their own life necessity. If some of it is sold, it is used to buy side dishes as much as their money can buy. Meanwhile, from wood plantation especially jengjeng and sengon, bamboo, banana and leftovers of previous plants like clove, rubber sap and household tea processing. Another income is working as a labor, servant, trader and factory employee surrounding Bogor and Jakarta.
the developing of medicinal plants in Karyasari was started in the early of 2007 with java tea/kidney tea plants (Orthosiphon aristatus ). until now, there are 150 farmers who had been join in this group. the area is about 20 hectares, planted with intercropping cultivating on the land that already there, together with other plantation plants. Today they produce 1 ton kidney tea leave per month.

E.2 Kelompok Tani Lindung Harapan, Kampong Tapos Desa Sukaharja-Bogor
The location of Lindung Harapan Farmer Group is in the slope of Salak mountain, in the middle of Halimun Salak National Park.
Kelompok Tani Lindung Harapan, can be meant as as a joint goal and expectation. exist on march 2002, with 75 members of farmers family and the main objective are maintaining and conserve the forest. the existence of this group is very significant as a guard for protect area which is catchments area for Bogor and Jakarta.
Perkumpulan Telapak has working out closer cooperative with Tapos community since 1995 started with awareness activity towards Java hawk-eagle conservation which are nearly extinct. that time, Tapos community well known as Javan hawk-eagle hunter because they don’t have any farm land. in 1999, Tapos villager together with Telapak succeed receiving license from Perhutani to plant vegetables and pineapple with intercropping way in Perhutani land. since that time, they finally stop hunting the javan hawk-eagle, moreover, they becoming the guard not only for the eagle, but for the forest conservation where they live during this time also.
Since they stop hunting, especially Javan hawk-eagle, agriculture is their main income until now. they are cultivating vegetables, taro and fruits (especially banana and pineapple) with intercropping way in the forest land. Nowadays, Kelompok Tani Lindung Harapan is running out a transportation business specialize in serving the member of farmer group, carrying the vegetables and fruits to the market.
Joining with Koperasi Tanaman Obat Jawa Barat , they start to plant medicinal plants to develop their effort nowadays. Almost all medicinal plants are suitable to be planted in the slope of Salak mountain. This moment, the plant that have being developed is java tea/kidney tea. It took 5 of 10 hectares. The kidney tea planted in intercropping way together with vegetables and pineapple. involving 30 farmers.
For pineapple product, almost all of group member possess their own pineapple plantation. the area of pineapple is 25 hectares. The uniqueness of this pineapple are sweet taste and cultivated in forest land without any chemical fertilizer, it mean totally 100% Organic.
The problem of pineapple is low in price, especially in great harvest time. it happens during 7-8 months in a year. Meanwhile the rest 4 months the quantity of pine apple is decrease. Today's harvest average is 500-1000 kg/day in great harvest and 300 kg/day for non harvest time. In the future, this farmer group will make jam from their pineapple. With this way they hope will increase the value added of pineapple.

E.3 Mandiri Farmers Group, Kampong Ciwaluh, Watesjaya Village, Cigombong SubDistrict, Bogor-West Java
Kampong Ciwaluh is a conservation kampong model where the people lives in harmony and stewarding the forests in their village. The kampong is surrounded by a national park area. The population of the kampong is approximately 80 families. The people of Ciwaluh has been cultivating medicinal herbs under the tree stands in the forest area in a mixed crop system. They have proven that they can live prosperously without destructing the forest. Because of the intact forest, the kampong has not experienced any drought, which is usually experienced by many other kampongs in different locations during the dry season.
The practice and way of living of kampong Ciwaluh is an example for other communities living around forest areas. Together with the cooperative, the practice of Ciwaluh will be replicated in other places, especially where there are farmer groups utilizing forest area for agricultural commodities.

E.4 Genteng Farmers Group, Wangunjaya Village, Ciambar SubDistrict & Cibilik Farmers Group, Nengerang Village, Cicurug SubDistrict, Sukabumi District, West Java
The location of both kampongs directly borders Gede-Pangrango National Park. The main livelihood of the people in these kampongs is agriculture. Their main products are casava and vegetables. Almost all of their farms is forest area which used to be under the jurisdiction of Perhutani. Perhutani allowed the people to cultivate the forest area in a mixed-crops system. However, since cultivating cassava requires open land, the forest condition is getting worse. More forest area is cleared to plant cassava. Because the change of the status of the area into national park area, needed now new land use planning so that the area can serve its function as conservation area, while maintaining the livelihood of the local community.
Facilitated by Telapak, the West Java Medicinal Plants Cooperative is working together with the national park authority to discuss with the community on steps to take for the land use planning. The cooperative offers an alternative solution by developing medicinal plants in a mixed-crops system. One of the species chosen is kumis kucing which can grow well under tree stands. This plan involves reforestation project in the location, to be conducted by the local community themselves. The medicinal plant that will be planted in the two kampongs are short term crops, therefore it can replace cassava as a source of income for the people of Genteng and Cibilik.