Setting Coconut Business in Motion
Ella Rizki Farihatul Maftuhah, 25, was born into a family that has been producing coconut sugar for generations.
Ella Rizki Farihatul Maftuhah
Ella Rizki Farihatul Maftuhah, 25, was born into a family that has been producing coconut sugar for generations. Since 2012, Ella and her family have strived to introduce gula semut (granulated coconut sugar) and other innovative products to village residents. Her efforts have helped empower female farmers, who no longer have to try their luck in big cities to make a living.
In Ella’s hometown of Semen hamlet in Trenten village of Candimulyo district, Magelang regency, Central Java, every household typically cultivates coconut trees. While the male family members tap the trees to extract the sap, the women process the sap into rounds of sugar by using molds made from coconut shells. These are called gula jawa (Javanese sugar). This traditional process has been handed down through the generations without much change.