Nyoman Sepel Diantara, a prominent figure among salak (snake fruit) farmers in Sibetan village, Karangasem, was selecting the seeds of the sweet gula pasir variety on Sunday.
Sepel and all the other farmers in Sibetan produce their own seeds to conserve the germplasm, the genetic makeup of the fruit and the heritage of their ancestors.
They said they would continue to maintain their plantations and conserve the agritourism potential despite flat commodity prices and inflation. “The salak prices remain flat, just like in previous years, even though the prices of other foods have risen,” Sepel said.
The two most famous types of salak planted on the island are salak Bali and salak gula pasir. During the harvest season, salak Bali is sold at around Rp 3,000 (26 US cents) per kilogram, while the latter is priced at Rp 15,000.
“We plan to expand the salak gula pasir plantations, because its sales price can cover our costs,” Sepel said.
At least 14 types of salak are planted in Sibetan. Sepel said the farmers wanted to conserve all of them, however they would expand the volume of the sweet type as this was the best way for farmers to keep the spirit of conserving salak as one of the island’s unique horticultural products.
Sepel reminisced that salak farmers in the 1980s and 1990s could pay for their children’s schooling as the fruit’s price was high. During those days, salak demand was also high for ceremonies, as it made up part of the offerings.
The situation today had turned upside down, he said.
Fluctuating weather is another challenge for these farmers. This year, for example, the dry season lasted longer than usual, forcing farmers to buy water for their plantations. The harvest season normally falls between December and March.
Over the last 10 years, farmers have been developing agritourism to add to their income. Every entrance to Sibetan has a board welcoming tourists, but not many travel agents are interested in including the site on their tours.
“The provincial administration could hold some kind of salak festival during this harvest season, so tourists would be interested,” Sepel stated, saying that farmers would be grateful for assistance with information on sightseeing routes, agri-education and the introduction of salak-based foods.
Salak are processed into many kinds of foods, including salak crackers, salak cakes (pia salak), candy and salak wine.
One of the farmers’ groups prepared for agritours was in Dukuh hamlet. Residents here had repaired their guesthouses to comply with tourist standards.
Sibetan residents have been working hard to sustain the area’s eco-tourism, including banning themselves from selling land to outsiders. People are also not allowed to fell trees, construct buildings and corrals within a radius of 10 meters.
Residents are also banned from discarding plastic waste and constructing buildings higher than a temple.
A farmer in Dukuh, I Nyoman Sujana, said tourists interested in Sibetan local culture could try the salak-based foods while visiting.
He said the local Sibetans aimed to conserve the salak plantations, thus every family was only allowed to change four are of their plantation into a yard for their homes.
They just hope that all their efforts and self-regulation will yield results.
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