Social Entrepreneur; Innovation Of Fungi Based Products

- Venue and Time:
  - Ruang Seminar 3rd floor, Labtek XI, SITH, ITB
  - 23 Februari 2018, 9.00 – 11.00 am
- Speaker:
  - Ronaldiaz Hartantyo (Co-founder Mycotech)
On February 23rd 2018 Biomanajemen held a mini seminar which invited Ronaldiaz Hartantyo, one of Mycotech Co-Founder. The theme was social entrepreneur with fungi based product innovation. In the mini seminar, the ITB architecture alumnus recounts his work experience and several project activities started from Wae Rebo. In this seminar he also mentioned his experience in developing several brands; Growbox and Mycotech.

Stories from Wae Rebo

Kampung Wae Rebo is located in Satar Lenda Village, Satarmese District, West Manggarai Regency, Flores. When today people are starting to talk about green erchitecture, Wae Rebo villagers have been implementing it for decades. Their traditional house is built through many experiments and failures that are then passed down from generation to generation. However, Wae Rebo still has energy and economic constraints. Kak Aldi is one of the facilitators of Wae Rebo Power who helps citizens with microhydro technology. However, after conducting need assesment and analysis, it was agreed if it was better to help the citizens from the economic sector.

Most of the people of Wae Rebo are coffee farmers. The outset coffee is only valued at Rp. 15.0000 / kg because of the quality assessment level is 6.5. This is caused by farmer’s lack of knowledge of how to maintain the coffee plant and the post-harvest process. One of the problems faced by the farmers is access to knowledge of how to improve the coffee quality. Therefore, facilitators play an important role to bridge coffee farmers with such knowledge. Representative from Wae Rebo is invited to conduct a comparative study in Bandung. They learned about the best practice of coffee picking, drying methods, separation techniques, grading, fermentation and other means. Finally Wae Rebo coffee reached number 8.5 for the coffee quality, which means it can be accepted by the export market. Through better income they can meet energy needs. Residents are able to install solar panels for energy needs. Furthermore, they can expand to the tourism sector while maintaining the value and culture of Wae Rebo.

Grow Box

Ask your younger siblings if they knew where rice came from. Not many children or even adults know where the food came from. Knowledge of food origin can foster a sense of appreciation of food. This is the rationale behind Grow Box. The main idea of this brand is edible mushroom in the form of growth media kit. It would be great for the children to grow, harvest and eat their own products.

Environmentally Friendly Materials from Mycotech

Commonly used building material materials are sand, cement, and brick. These materials are usually obtained by taking from the environment. The method of extraction can often cause damages to the environment. More over, the materials are contining high amount of formaldehyde. Meanwhile, Mushroom fibers are known to form strong bond and can be used to glue materials very well. For that reason, Mycotech collaborated with BPPT and laboratories in Singapore and Switzerland is developing eco-friendly materials called Biobo. This Biobo product has been purchased by companies from French, England, and Arab. The country has government regulations that support the use of environmentally friendly products. In contarary, Indonesia does not have any regulations which is in favour of environmentally friendly products.

Indonesian government should have supported this movements because the fact is the Biobo price can be cheaper to produce compared to brick, and can have positive impact on the environment.

This mini seminar about Wae Rebo, Growbox, and Mycotech shows an important point. The most important point is that collaboration is absolutely necessary. Collaboration makes understanding of the problem more holistic so that the solution offered is better. Finally, innovation should be encouraged in order to benefit society.

(writer: Rizqy Fachria, Translator: Gita Kemala)