Preserving Papuan Local Food via MSMEs

KOMPAS/FABIO MARIA LOPES COSTA

Three female visitors spent time enjoying Jayapura's culinary delights at the Isasai Restaurant in Jayapura City, Papua in early March 2023.

In the midst of the increase in availability of food from outside the region, a number of young people in Jayapura are trying to preserve local food via micro, small and medium-scaled enterprises (MSMEs). They hope city residents will return to the culinary delights of their hometown.

“Welcome to Isasai. Please turn right, in the direction of the restaurant," said Orius Kogoya, while welcoming guests at the entrance to Isasai Restaurant in Waena, Heram district, Jayapura, Papua, on Friday (3/3/2023).

The young man from Lanny Jaya regency, called Ois, is a receptionist at the Isasai Restaurant owned by Ulin Epa and her husband, Fredi Bartholomeus.

Isasai Restaurant is a row of stilt houses on the outskirts of Lake Sentani. The wind that never stops blowing from Lake Sentani makes the atmosphere of the restaurant very cool. This restaurant, with a capacity of 500 people, is managed by a native Papuan entrepreneur. It is not difficult to reach this restaurant by car or motorcycle.

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Upon arriving at the dining table, the waiter, wearing a shirt with a typical Papuan motif, immediately came with a food menu. All the food served is cuisine from Sentani, Jayapura regency, Ulin's hometown.

There are 12 culinary offerings, including hot papeda (congee made from sago) or, in Sentani language, it is called fi naunge,papeda wrap or finukhu; sago or sinole omelet; yellow snakehead fish soup; black snakehead fish soup; purple sweet potato; taro mash; and genemo lilin vegetables with milk coconut.

Various dishes are prepared as a buffet. There are also freshly cooked ones, such as fish with yellow sauce and sinole with a mixture of brown sugar. All raw materials are purchased from Papuan women who sell at Phara Market, Sentani.

We want to maintain the tradition of consuming local culinary delights that are attractively packaged and served in a restaurant.

The restaurant also has three endemic fish conservation locations, which in Sentani language are called Bhukere. The facility is in the form of a fence made of rows of suang type wood, which are placed in a circle to catch snakehead fish.

“Isasai is a restaurant that only serves Jayapura culinary delights and a snakehead fish conservation area. We want to maintain the tradition of consuming local culinary delights that are attractively packaged and served in a restaurant. There are 14 workers in Isasai, the majority of whom are local youths," said Ulin (36).

Isasai is Ulin's second place of business with her husband with a mainstay menu of local Papuan culinary delights. Previously, they opened a cafe called Sundshine in 2017. The cafe serves various types of foods such as sago, papeda, sago omelet and yellow-sauce fish.

KOMPAS/FABIO MARIA LOPES COSTA

Local culinary sago pancakes or called sinole and mashed taro from Jayapura and coffee from the Papuan Mountains served at Isasai Restaurant, Jayapura City, Papua.

As the response of customers was quite positive, Ulin and Fredi also opened an Isasai Restaurant so the wider community could enjoy the typical culinary delights of their village. Now, Isasai's turnover is around Rp 60 million (US$4,000) per month. The restaurant is quite busy on weekdays. The Sunshine cafe has a turnover of Rp 30 million per month.

"Don't hesitate to showcase Papuan culinary delights to the public, because they are in great demand. Only in this way can we maintain culinary traditions from the land of Papua," said Ulin.

Papuan Coffee

Apart from Ulin, there is Yafet Wetipo (34) who started a Papuan coffee roasting and cafe business in 2018 in the Yoka area, Heram district. At his place of business, Highland Roastery Coffee Papua, which is about 1 kilometer from Isasai Restaurant, Yafet has five employees.

This place also sells unroasted and pre-roasted coffee beans to its customers in 17 coffee shops and three coffee-roasting shops in Jayapura, Manokwari regency and Sorong.

Highland Roastery Coffee Papua can sell up to 300 kilograms of coffee products per week with an average turnover of Rp 25 million per month. Yafet buys coffee beans from around 100 farmers from four districts in Highlands, namely Jayawijaya, Yahukimo, Lanny Jaya and Gunung Bintang.

Yafet buys arabica coffee beans from Jayawijaya, Lanny Jaya and Yahukimo at Rp 120,000 per kg. He also buys the arabica coffee beans from the Bintang Mountains at Rp 125,000-Rp 130,000 per kg. "With this business, I want to get rid of the stigma that Papuans cannot become entrepreneurs, namely by utilizing arabica coffee from the land of Papua, whose quality is recognized by many people," he said.

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The head of the Jayapura’s Industry, Trade and Cooperative Office, Robert Awi, appreciated the restaurant and cafe business run by Papuans. Currently, home industries in culinary and food processing in Jayapura amount to 2,100 units or nearly 30 percent of the total 7,800 MSMEs in Jayapura.

Every year, said Robert, his office continues to monitor the development of MSMEs and prepare assistance, training and mentoring for MSMEs who have contributed to economic growth in Jayapura. "We also cooperate with the tourism agency to promote MSME products in every hotel in Jayapura and Sentani airport," he said.

MSMEs that serve local food not only preserve traditional dishes, but also local culture and turn the people's economy around.

This article was translated by Hendarsyah Tarmizi.