The Thriving Mushrooms of Borobudur
Originally, mushrooms were no more than the favorite food of Puput, who is from Jowahan hamlet in Wanurejo village, Borobudur district, Central Java.
For Puput Setyoko, 29, mushrooms have not only been a life changer, they have also offered a means to make a living. He has been striving to make mushrooms a tourism magnet in Borobudur.
“I want Jamur Borobudur [Borobudur Mushrooms] to be one of the iconic gifts from the area of Borobudur Temple,” said Puput on Thursday (6/5/2021). Jamur Borobudur is the brand name of Puput’s mushroom products.
Originally, mushrooms were no more than the favorite food of Puput, who is from Jowahan hamlet in Wanurejo village, Borobudur district, Central Java. After finishing vocational high school in 2010, he began working in a mine in Kalimantan.
“As a bachelor, it may be suitable to work in a mine. The salary is high, and there’s no worry about other needs. But as I noticed my seniors, I felt discouraged. Until an advanced age, they lived a long way from their families. Their positions weren’t exceptional either,” he recalled.
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In the third year, Puput decided to quit after failing a health test. He was partially color-blind.
Puput returned to his village in Borobudur in 2013 with deep anxiety. He applied for jobs at several companies but failed because of his condition. A gloomy future was looming.
So he began to pursue practical knowledge about mushroom cultivation.
Caught in apprehension, the thought of mushrooms, his best-loved snack, suddenly struck Puput. He wondered why he didn’t just cultivate mushrooms. So he began to pursue practical knowledge about mushroom cultivation.
“I was learning everywhere, from several cultivators in Magelang, Temanggung and as far as Wates [Kulon Progo],” he related.
Puput was finally capable of starting mushroom cultivation. His capital of Rp 2 million was spent buying mushroom growth medium, among other necessities. “In my first harvest, I took 750 grams of oyster mushrooms to the Borobudur market. I made three packs. One pack sold for Rp 2,000. I took home Rp 6,000,” he said, giggling.
He was happy and doubtful at the same time. He was delighted because the mushroom market in the Magelang region was still wide open, but he was hesitant because the income from the mushrooms was not matching his previous salary from the mining job.
“I just looked at the positive side. Furthermore, I could no longer go back. I had to succeed in the mushroom business,” added Puput.
In 2015, he began making the growth medium himself. He even started receiving neighbors and other villagers interested in learning mushroom cultivation. Puput taught them with pleasure. He also made them his partners. He assured them that he would buy their mushroom harvests. Nonetheless, they were also allowed to sell their mushrooms to other buyers for higher prices.
But he began to face a challenge. Producing growth medium for his partners turned out not to be as easy as cultivating mushrooms. The risk of failure was high. Puput once suffered more than a Rp 10 million loss as thousands of bags of the medium sold to his partners failed to provide a mushroom yield. Their trust in him also declined.
Puput refused to give up. He kept learning from his mistakes and eventually began doing well. The demand for the growth medium continued to increase. In a day he could produce 600 bags, each yielding 3 to 3.5 ounces of mushrooms.
Tourist zone
Puput’s link with the tourism sector started at the end of 2016, when he expanded his mushroom business by processing his harvest into various snacks. However, this part of the business was only successful after Puput married Isna Yuliani in 2017.
After a year of work, they found the right recipes for mushroom chips, followed by mushroom balls and mushroom rendang (cooking method that uses coconut milk and spices). They named their products Jamur Borobudur.
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Gradually, Jamur Borobudur became familiar to the public. Puput’s house and production site in Jowahan hamlet began teeming with visitors. To attract more tourists, he made use of the network of his father, who worked as a andong (horse-drawn carriage) coachman in the temple zone.
The guests brought by his father and other coachmen were invited by Puput to observe the process of mushroom cultivation. They found it interesting. “I took them to watch plant growth medium being made first and then mushroom storage, ending with the process of mushroom snack making and tasting the products,” said Puput.
From mushroom planting, Puput began learning the tourism business. He joined the tourism community in the Borobudur zone to gain experience and strengthen his network. He also boosted the promotion of Jamur Borobudur on social media. Today, his mushroom chip market covers Aceh, Kalimantan and Sulawesi.
Although almost 60 percent of his turnover comes from snack gift sales, Puput remains enthusiastic whenever he is asked to share his knowledge of mushroom cultivation.
Moreover, in the last two years he has managed to produce mushroom seedlings.
His doors are open wide to everybody who wishes to learn mushroom cultivation. “Many migrant workers, employees who have been laid off or victims of dismissal learn mushroom cultivation here,” he said.
He noted that someone from Aceh had come and stayed in his house to learn mushroom planting. “I guided him until he was capable,” said Puput, who now employs 10 workers.
Puput is prepared to share his skills and experience because he was inspired by his mentors, who taught him and raised his spirit when he started his mushroom cultivation business. He believes mushrooms could be a means to make a living for many people.
Puput Setyoko
Born: Borobudur, Magelang, July 22, 1991
Wife: Isna Yuliani, 27
Child: one
Occupation: Owner of Jamur Borobudur
(This article was translated by Aris Prawira).