By Yusuf
Tande, S.Pd.
Alor
Regency as part of the East Nusa Tenggara province has natural wealth, such as
land with hilly contour, beaches, and seas. From the land, it is easy to find
products such as, candlenut, coconut, coffee, cocoa, walnuts, cashew nuts,
tamarind, and several other types. For the people of Alor, these plants are
easy to find both in the house yards and the fields, so, normally, they become
the source of income that supports the economy of the community. The harvest is
usually marketed directly to the market or middleman, without processing it
first so that the price is low or often fluctuating. A common commodity found
in the market is candlenuts (Aleurites Moluccana) because the population of
candlenut trees is numerous so that the harvest reaches 3.600 tons in 2019
(Alor Regency in Figures, 2021). Candlenut as a cooking spice is usually sold
directly unpeeled or peeled to meet the daily needs.
How to increase the value of goods, especially agricultural products in Alor is something that worries Petrus Maure, S.Kom, the Multiplicator of Stube HEMAT in Alor, so he continues to look for a breakthrough to process these crops. He also thinks that it is necessary to "increase skills and knowledge through developing the potency of Natural Resources and Human Resources with self-capacity training and reducing ecological sins," he said.
The follow-up activity to equip young people to make Candlenut Oil was carried out on Tuesday, 13/04/2021 at the GMIT Salem Pasi church and attended by 20 participants from youth, students, and university students. They learn together to practice step by step to process the candlenut into candlenut oil. Some of the tools used are simple, such as nyiru (sieve tool), mortar and pestle (crushing tool), blender (mixing tool), tacu, and stove, as well as bowl containers to hold water and candlenut oil.
In this workshop, they processed 3 kg of candlenut that have been peeled cleanly from their shells. The steps taken are, first, pounded the candlenut using a mortar and blender, second, squeezed the candlenut mixture by adding some water. Third, store the liquid in a closed container overnight, fourth, heated the liquid until the water evaporated and the candlenut oil remained. Fifth, filtered the candlenut oil and then put it in ready-to-sell packaging bottles.
It is admitted that this process needed a long time just to produce a small amount of candlenut oil, but it yields good quality candlenut oil with its clear yellow color. Pure candlenut oil contains vitamin B1 and is useful for maintaining strong hair, stimulating hair growth, and eliminating dandruff.
This youth workshop activity got support from the local church pastor, Pdt. Sanci Oan, S.Th., as the head of GMIT Salem Pasi church, “I support creative ideas coming from the church member and young people, and this activity is also a form of developing the creative economy of the church and the community in cultivating the existing natural potencies around us. It does not bring economic benefits only, but also train our abilities and knowledge how to process local resources in our village, especially efforts to develop natural and human resource potency in line with the program of the Synod of the Evangelical Christian Church in Timor (GMIT) to cultivate and develop the creative economy of the church,” she explained.
This workshop received appreciation from Trustha Rembaka, S.Th., coordinator of Stube HEMAT Yogyakarta, who was in Alor at the time for the Local Exposure program to Alor with two other Stube team members. Even in this activity, the workshop participants were guided to map the potencies of other natural products and find derivative products from these materials, to increase their economic value. Some products other than coconut and candlenut are tamarind, walnuts, areca nut, and cashew nuts.
Hopefully,
in the future, the spirit of learning and togetherness of youth will continue
to be maintained and be able to process other natural products creatively to
support their economy independence through entrepreneurship, which will finally
improve their welfare. Keep moving forward, young people.***
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