Turning Raw Rubber into More Valuable Goods

Kompas/Adrian Fajriansyah

Raw natural rubber is processed into a number of more value-added products at the Research and Standardization Industry Center in Palembang, South Sumatra, on Tuesday (14/3). Rubber farmers in Lubuk Sebontan village, Muara Papalik district, West Tanjung Jabung regency, Jambi, take part in natural rubber processing to make things like vulcanized tires, motor vehicle parts, shoes and sandals and wheelchairs.

As many as 10 rubber farmers traveled for as long as 400 kilometers for about 12 hours from Lubuk Sebontan village in Muara Papalik subdistrict, Tanjung Jabung Barat district, Jambi province, to the city of Palembang. They went to the capital of South Sumatra province to learn how to process raw rubber into more valuable goods.

At present, they only sell latex in its raw form. They are often cheated by middlemen in a trade that is controlled by international prices. The 10 rubber farmers were part of a group of people who were relocated to a number of areas in Java to Lubuk Sebontan village during a period between 1992 and 1993 as part of a government-sponsored transmigration program. From the beginning, they were directed to become rubber farmers. Each family was given two hectares of land.