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Jakarta Post

Planting trees, harvesting rupiah

The barren hills of Karang Tengah, Imogiri, Bantul, Yogyakarta, were always considered waste land, until little creatures in cocoons transformed the landscape into a money-making operation

Slamet Susanto (The Jakarta Post)
Yogyakarta
Fri, April 16, 2010

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Planting trees, harvesting rupiah

The barren hills of Karang Tengah, Imogiri, Bantul, Yogyakarta, were always considered waste land, until little creatures in cocoons transformed the landscape into a money-making operation.

With hardly any houses in sight, and located 2 kilometers down some winding roads and hills, this 60-hectare piece of land didn’t stand many chances of being productive.

In fact, only a few residents used the land to plant crops like corn and peanuts. But since wild silk cultivation took off, more than 25 hectares of the land has turned green.

What were silkworms thinking when they invaded this once barren area? Well, they came to feed off the cashew leaves when the nuts were ready to be harvested.

“We planted trees and harvested rupiah,” the head of the wild silk cultivation group of Tani Catur Makaryo, Sogiyanto told The Jakarta Post.

Wild silk in his village has existed since ancient times but residents never reaped the benefits, said
Sogiyanto.

Silkworms were considered pests with residents insisting on getting rid of them. The lack of greenery meant the silkworms’ habitat had not been developed to its maximum capacity. “We, the residents, did not know silkworms could be so lucrative so we got rid of them,” said Sogiyanto.

Wild silk cultivation started in 1995 when J. Situmorang, a professor in the School of Biology at Gadjah Mada University (UGM) in Yogyakarta, undertook some research on silkworms. His research concluded that silkworms eating the leaves of cashew trees were reportedly able to produce high-quality silk.

 In 1998, in association with the palace of Yogyakarta, he convinced residents to cultivate wild silk, and then established the Royal Silk Foundation with the task of developing the local wild-silk industry.

“Apart from giving residents significant additional income, the cultivation of wild silk also helped save a species of elephant butterfly [silk butterflies] threatened with extinction, and also helped recover critically damaged land,” said Fitriana Kudora, the head of the Royal Silk Foundation.

The first step in the program was to educate the local community about the benefits of the silkworm industry.

Most of the residents didn’t understand the issues and couldn’t believe the cultivation of wild silk could bring such benefits.

In 2005, to support the habitats of silkworms, 10,000 cashew seeds were sown to provide food for silkworms.

Residents also planted other fruit trees, such as sirsak (a fruit like soursop), mahogany and avocado.

To accelerate the greening process and create a habitat for silkworms, the Royal Silk Foundation, together with the Garuda airline, ran a program in 2007 called “One Passenger, One Tree”, where passengers, particularly from Japan, donated funds to plant trees.

Royal product: Yogyakarta Governor Sri Sultan Hamengku Buwono X (left) takes a close look at an umbrella made from wild silk.
Royal product: Yogyakarta Governor Sri Sultan Hamengku Buwono X (left) takes a close look at an umbrella made from wild silk.

Each passenger from Japan was invited to set aside ¥1,000 or around Rp 85,000 (US$9.50). The funds were then used to buy and maintain one tree per donor, with 50,000 trees planted through this program.

“We named the trees after the people who made the contributions. As farmers we did the fertilizing; we prepared the ground, made the name boards and maintained the trees,” said Supardi and other farmers.

Efforts to make the area greener and more productive continued to be carried out. From the 60 hectares of land previously barren, more than 25 hectares were turned into green productive land.

The cashew fruit now sells for Rp 65,000 per kilogram, with each tree producing more than 20 kilograms a year. The cashew leaves as a source of food for silkworms also generates income. Silk cocoons sell for Rp 75,000 to Rp 100,000 each.

“The seasons for the cashew fruit and silkworms are different. In the wet season, there are cashews fruits but no silkworms. It’s the other way around just before the wet season, when silkworms begin to grow and are harvested before the cashew season starts,” said Sogiyanto.

Sogiyanto said there was still potential to increase the production. The cashew trees haven’t yielded much fruit because they are not big enough.

Vice versa, the silk yields haven’t been significant because the supply of food for silkworms has so far been insufficient and worms haven’t spread far. While waiting for maximum results, residents have used the land in-between the trees to plant crops such as corn and peanuts.

“In the short term, while we wait for the cashew trees to grow, the residents can cultivate other crops,”
he said. There are now 316 farmers producing wild silk in Karang Tengah, which joined the Catur Makaryo group.

Each farmer has a block of land averaging 2,000 square meters. On every 2,000 square meters, there are 150 cashew trees. When production is at its peak, one cashew tree can produce 15 to 20 kilograms of cashews and 1 to 2 kilograms of silk cocoons.

Residents have found that marketing silkworms hasn’t been difficult, most probably because the Royal Silk Foundation, located in Jl. Ahmad Dahlan 73, has been handling the marketing for products out of Yogyakarta.

Wild silkworms from this location are also used to make yarn, which is processed into a variety of export-quality crafts and accessories.

Products derived from cocoon silk can fetch high prices. Wallpaper for example, sells for Rp 135,000 ($15) for a half a meter by 85-centimeter sheet. Bags made from silk sell from Rp 90,000 to Rp 200,000 each. Scarves costs from Rp 400,000 to Rp 600,000 each.

Silkworm thread is also used to make lampshades, selling from Rp 70,000 to Rp 200,000. Silk fabrics can fetch as much as Rp 500,000 a piece.

“This is a complex business and a lot of factors must taken into consideration, starting from saving the environment, improving the welfare of residents through to rescuing wildlife species,” said Fitriani Kudora.

It’s hoped the cultivation of wild silk in the future will bring significant additional income to the residents. “The main goal is to raise the residents’ income and improve residents’ lives,” said Fitriani.

 

For tourism too: Japanese tourists visit a plantation of cashew nut trees, also called jambu mete, where silk worms are known to breed. JP/Tarko Sudiarno
For tourism too: Japanese tourists visit a plantation of cashew nut trees, also called jambu mete, where silk worms are known to breed. JP/Tarko Sudiarno

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