Innovation

Fig leaves are commonly used in cooking and to make tea. In order to grow them, Tea Tin Leaf Aracik has developed an environmentally sound fertilizer. Their decision to use this organic fertilizer is preventing land and water pollution from chemical fertilizer and also producing organic herbs and food that have fewer potentially harmful chemicals. Their organic produce does not use any pesticides, growth hormones, or chemical fertilizers.

Growing figs to sell their leaves for tea requires ample foliage production. To achieve this, fig growers usually use urea or TSP fertilizers, which are harmful to the environment, to speed up the process of protein synthesis and hasten the growth of leaves and fruit and to speed up the process of protein synthesis usually use, but Aracik is using organic fertilizer made from bats guano and fermented cheese fruit. Bats Guano contains three major nutrients for soil: nitrogen (10%), phosphorus (3%) and potassium (1%). Nitrogen and phosphorous facilitate rapid leaf and root growth respectively, while potassium helps plants grow strong stems. Aracik founder Mr Syamsuri expressed his hope that this benign fertilizer would become more widespread, saying “I have shared the methods and information regarding the use of organic fertilizer made from from guano and cheese fruit with colleagues and I hope that this solution can be implemented in other places.”

Inspiration

Syamsuri, founder of Aracik, is an agricultural businessman and inventor of a new fertilizer who has no background in agricultural and chemistry education. He studied farming techniques and irrigation when he helped his brother to complete his final project for an agricultural engineering degree. He learned to plant fruits and vegetables, how to make organic fertilizer, irrigation techniques and soil management. He is very eager to share his knowledge and experience of agriculture with neighbors and associates.

Syamsuri has developed a farming model using pots, which allow farmers to grow quality plants with limited land. The method works not just for figs plants, but also for a guava crystals, strawberries, noni fruit, dragon fruit, and many others. He also maintains a jambal fish pond whose water adds nutrients when used to water plants. With the many types of fruit and vegetable crops he plants, he hopes to make his region more food self-sufficient.

Overall impact

Synthetic fertilizers can cause plant damage to leaves and roots. This risk is reduced with organic fertilizers such as this one made from guano and noni fruit. It can also increase the growth level of leaves, which are used to make tea. This innovation can help the farmers to reduce their usage of chemical fertilizer.

Business benefit

Syamsuri has can increased sales of tea from 50 bottles of Tea Fig each week to 100 bottles of Tea Fig each week.

Bat guano and noni fertilizer can reduce the need for pesticides and overall nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium requirements as well. Because of the reductions, organic fertilizer can be cost neutral and sometimes a cost savings.

Social and environmental benefit

Benefit For Community:

Bat guano is harvested from the Building Juang Panjang Tambun – Bekasi, clearing out the guano has reduced the bad odor in that building and cut down on fungus growth.

Aracik is producing organic herb tea that is healthier than alternatives without the need for harmful synthetic treatments.

Benefit for Local Government:

Aracik is encouraging the emergence of innovative new business actors.

Benefit for Environment:

Improve soil fertility by using natural fertilizer and sustaining the soil, promote soil health as well.

Whereas generally synthetic fertilizers are used, using Bat Guano and Noni Fruit as organic fertilizer is much better for the environment. It reduces the use of chemicals such as arsenic, cadmium, and uranium which make soil and water toxic.

Organic fertilizers will make the soil–and plants–healthy and strong.

Interview

Syamsuri, Mr