Empowerment through Rosella Cultivation in Muara Enim

The abundance of Rosella plants in the village of Dian Afiani at Tanjung Enim has become the joint mainstay of the women under the Family Welfare and Empowerment organization (PKK) in their efforts to become empowered and seek additional income.  Dian succeeded in processing Rosella flowers to become a beverage and food product, popular in the current pandemic period.  She hopes that this will provide the means to bring up her children to achieve their aspirations.

“My target at SIBA Rosella is to enable my children to achieve their dreams, help more people benefit from SIBA Rosella, those who are members of the organization as well as the Rosella farmers themselves,” Dian disclosed in a discussion of women in the mining industry (18/4).

Dian runs a Micro and Small Enterprise under the Stewardship program of PT Bukit Asam Tbk – Member of MIND ID. As a micro and small enterprise in the mining community, Dian benefits from the Stewardship program in the form of working capital, training and development as well as area workshop at the Bukit Asam Industrial Center or Sentra Industri Bukit Asam (SIBA). The role of women gets attention from many stakeholders, specifically in the mining communities.  The G20 International Forum also focuses on the role of women in SMEs.

A member since 22 February 2019, Dian explained that SIBA Rosella supports her household economy as well as those of the 23 other women who are also active in the organization.  No willing just to dream, Dian hopes that SIBA Rosella can help in processing various Rosella products and able to become a healthy, organic product of choice for the public.  “In the long term, I also hope that the products from SIBA Rosella can be exported,” said Dian.

SIBA Rosella takes part in empowering women by optimizing the cultivation of the Rosella plants and the production of various processed products into healthy products in the Covid-19 pandemic era. Dian’s initiative began with her interest in experimenting with various food products.  “Not only that, Rosella has a special memory for me,” she revealed.

The plant with maroon red flowers with the Latin name Hibiscus Sabdariffa, is an easily cultivated medicinal plant.  This opens opportunities for processing into beverage and snacks which are saleable for family and public needs,  Dian and the SIBA Rosella team have planted about 1,500 Rosella plants and have harvested the flowers since February 2020.

From February to August 2020, SIBA Rosella has successfully produced 3,500 bottles, 4,000 tea bags as well as 2,000 pouches of Rosella tea.

Aside from the empowerment aspect, SIBA Rosella is expected to be able to contribute in handling Covid-19 as the Rosella processed products, such as tea and syrup, has a high vitamin C content which is the choice of healthy food and beverage for people in the pandemic era.

Moreover, SIBA Rosella is also expected to provide economic added value to those who take part in this program. With a production and development center in Lingga, Muara Enim, a portion of the SIBA Center land of 2,000 square meters, is also used as a demonstration plot for 3,000 Rosella plants.  The cultivation of Rosella at SIBA Rosella starts from the nursery, land processing, planting, maintenance and fertilization to the harvesting phase.