Innovation

Liquid smoke is produced by the distillation of wood, or other organic material such as coconut shells. The smoke produced from burning, is condensed into liquid form.

This product, liquid smoke, has a wide variety of uses, from culinary flavouring, to pest control.

Liquid smoke has been used as an effective anti-odour spray in Gustinov's community, with particular interest from chicken farmers who need to reduce the levels of ammonia and ammonia odour from the chicken coops. An application of liquid smoke spray can effectively remove ammonia odour and ammonia itself, ensuring the chicken coops stay clean and promoting the health of the chickens.

Liquid smoke also serves as a very effective anti-microbial agent. It has been used for the disinfection of wounds as well as sterilizing enclosed environments such as the chicken coops.

Inspiration

Gustinov Brilliant Aji Putra, a local man from Yogyakarta, has created an enterprise, called Cocofarma, by using locally found materials such as coconut shells to produce liquid smoke. His liquid smoke product, Antrakill and Ammonix, are non-toxic and environmentally friendly and have helped reduce the burden of waste disposal by creating meaningful value for himself and the community at the same time.

Gustinov has an extensive history of being involved in green innovations, such as the Eco Bike, to help residents in Yogyakarta in the aftermath of a disastrous earthquake that shook the city in 2006.

His interest in green innovations led him to learn and study about liquid smoke. He was first introduced to the concept of liquid smoke in 2011 and has since refined the processes to produce better quality end products of liquid smoke and coconut charcoal.

“It takes almost 5 years of doing research to make it a medical, farming, and poultry product. Then to make people trust it, is even harder,” said Gustinov.

Gustinov eventually succeeded in obtaining an official license to commercialise the product.

Overall impact

Overall this innovation of Gustinov’s fulfills a number of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals:

SDG #8 Decent Work and Economic Growth

Simple innovations such as liquid smoke have become a source of income for Gustinov as well as other employees who manage the process and the delivery. The purchase of coconut shells from traditional market vendors also provide these people with an additional stream of income to help encourage economic growth in the community.

SDG #11 Sustainable Communities and Cities

The use of non-toxic pest control such as Antrakill reduces environmental pollution in farming communities who are traditionally relying on chemical insecticides and pesticides.

“…in chili farming it can reduce unnecessary usage of formaldehyde, wall paint to help them stop Anthracnose fungus.”

SDG #12 Responsible Consumption and Production

The use of Antrakill is environmentally safe, and also medically safe for the people who use it. The production process of Antrakill makes use of coconut shells which are otherwise discarded as waste and create a big problem of waste management.

Business benefit

Antrakill is well liked by the public, especially Gustinov said: “chilli farmer[s] feel glad that we can produce organic and effective anti-fungal products: Anthracnose and Fusarium."

He added that:"Poultry breeders also found it effective as a deodorizing agent as well as an antiseptic agent. In addition, a variant of Antrakill, Amonix B, has been developed to target fly larva".

As a result of public reception and word-of-mouth communications, sales have been growing by 15% on average every month.

Social and environmental benefit

Antrakill is a non-toxic alternative for chili farmers who traditionally use formaldehyde to stop the anthracnose fungus.

Poultry farmers can also use Ammonix as a much healthier alternative to formalin when it comes to sterilization of the coop environment.

The use of Antrakill and Ammonix contributes to better health of the natural environment around the farms as traditionally used formaldehyde and formalin are highly damaging to the environment.

As the business scales up, Gustinov also hopes to be able to employ more people, thus creating opportunities for the youth in this community.

Interview

Gustinov Brilliant, Founder