Health

Eating vegetables and fruits every day is a good way to stay healthy. However, commercially harvested produce may prove harmful to your health as it just might contain chemical fertilizers. Applied extensively, such additives will indirectly impact the quality and beneficial aspects of food. So what should we do? Well, we can start by consuming more organic goods. While not the case ten years ago, today we can easily find organic products. Many supermarkets offer them and there are even some stores that specialize in the selling of organic merchandise. Further, if convenience is as important to you as healthy eating, you can order organic products and these organics will come right to your door. 

Perhaps more practical than locating organic products through retail stores may be the option of purchasing from distributors that offer a home delivery service. Some producers of organic products are willing to go a long way towards attracting customers. Several will come right to the doors of their patrons. Residents of Jakarta can order such enticing fresh vegetables as large red tomatoes and vine-ripened purple eggplant from distributors as Organik Klub, Kandaga Organic, The Learning Farm, and Organic Food Indonesia.

These organizations all provide home delivery service of their harvested products. Organik Klub is an authorized dealer of Agatho Organics - the first organic vegetable farm in Indonesia, founded by Pastor Agatho. Operating under the motto: “We deliver to your door real organic vegetables & produce; just order, it's no hassle to order,” the Organik Klub offers organic rice, eggs, chickens, tofu, and even home-made sausages in addition to their fresh organic vegetables and fruits.

The Organik Klub was officially launched to the public by Emilia Nursanti Wibisono, or Santi, in 2007. Santi is one of the pioneers of the organic food movement in Jakarta. According to her, the company delivers monthly to about 50 customers. Organik Klub is effectively changing not only Jakartans’ way of eating but their perspectives on health as well. "We must be selective in choosing a fruit that is free of pesticide," Nick Djatnika, the manager of Kandaga Organic states. "For example, watermelons that are free of worms may in fact suggest a potentially dangerous aspect of crop treatment, for worms are reluctant to touch pesticides," he explained. "We do not produce in large enough quantities to stock the shop every day, that's why we prefer orders and home delivery," Nick further elaborates.

In addition, Jiway Tung, a project manager for The Learning Farm stated that they provide home delivery services in order to build a loyal customer base, and this in turn supports their training program. The Learning Farm was founded three years ago by a U.S. based NGO, World Education, and is currently run by the Karang Widya Foundation.

"With the home delivery service marketing system, we can estimate how much production is required and also how much revenue we can obtain in return," explains Jiway. This revenue is then used to support training programs that serve their initiative. Such strategies incite farmers in the implementation of sustainable agriculture not only in order to produce healthy food without the use of pesticides and chemical fertilizers, but as well to achieve the larger goal of ecosystem balance.

"At first, it was so hard to convince farmers to transform [production] to organics, because the profits are smaller and the price of the product is higher, thus making farmers doubt their ability to sell the products," Nick revealed. According to the Research Institute of Organic Agriculture based in Sweden, only about one thousandth of the total of agricultural land in Indonesia is truly organic. Nevertheless, it is expected that demand for organic foods will increase in conjunction with the trend towards healthy living among the people of Jakarta. Nick explained that in 2006, at which point Kandaga was at an early stage of its development, most of their customers were expatriates. "We have now expanded the percentage of local customers," he said. Kandaga currently services 30 customers per week in Jakarta. In comparison, The Learning Farm delivers three times per week to approximately 30 customers at each instance.

As a measure of specialization, Organic Food Indonesia is more focused on organic rice than vegetables. The company has been offering home delivery since 2008. Darmawan Wijaya, of the organization, said, "Organic food is booming recently. That's why we want to be a part of this trend. " Organic Food Indonesia buys rice from 10 farmers in Bandung, Sukabumi, and Cianjur, West Java, and also assists them in completing their transformation from chemical to organic farming. According to The World of Organic Agriculture, global sales of organic foods and beverages have seen a 43 percent increase in sales to USD 23 billion. With the turning of the millennium, public awareness of the importance of a 'back to nature' lifestyle has emerged as a major trend. And organic farming, defined by its avoidance of chemicals, supplies inroads to not only the maintenance of sustainable agriculture but to the overall balance of nature as well. Currently, Indonesia has at least seven organic food certification institutions. They provide official certification to 48 agriculturally based groups dedicated to organic farming in areas totaling ​​102.000 hectares throughout various regions of Indonesia.

Organik Klub, Tebet Barat VII F No.1 Tebet, (021- 8296 167)

The Learning Farm – Phone + 628111101406

Kandaga Organic – Phone +6285695724767

Organic Food Indonesia – Phone +62081510791761