Bakso and satay made from mushrooms are among the new products at Jamur Borobudur. Photos: ALAN TEH
Puput Setyoko pushes the well-worn door and it swings effortlessly inwards, uncloaking a darkened interior illuminated only by a few rays of the late afternoon sunlight filtering dustily through slats in the thatched walls.
The single-storey shed begins to divulge its jealously guarded secret as eyes gradually get accustomed to the low-light environment. Arranged in neat rows on tiered wooden racks are brown polybags, some with noticeable whitish growth protruding from their tapered ends.
Picking up one closest to him, Puput explains that each receptacle contains the medium necessary for optimal mushroom growth. Consisting primarily of compacted sawdust, agricultural chalk and finely ground poultry feed which have been moistened sufficiently with boiled tap water, the mixture, known in mushroom cultivation as baglog, then undergoes a 10-hour-long steaming process.
The enterprising Puput began his mushroom venture some twelve years ago and now it has turned into Jamur Borobudur, a thriving mushroom-centric business in Indonesia.
Overcoming challenges
Gesturing towards a nearby sunbeam casting light on minute particles floating in the air, the 32-year-old entrepreneur explains that, like dust, wild mushroom spores are found abundantly in the air and the lengthy heating duration is necessary to make sure that the baglog is properly sterilised before it is inoculated with those from desired mushroom species that are both edible and suitable for commercial fungiculture.
As the door closes on our way out, Puput explains that mushroom cultivation requires high humidity surroundings and the absence of chlorophyll allows farmers to dispense with expensive energy-consuming lighting systems. At the same time, he cautions that the growing process may appear easy, but success can only be guaranteed through detailed knowledge acquisition, patience and a lot of hard work.
Turning back the clock to 2013, Puput recalls the moment when he first took up mushroom farming.
Only 50 hours are needed for the first oyster mushroom shoots to appear from the backlog.
“After much deliberation, I shortlisted the oyster mushroom, wood ear fungus and ganoderma lingzhi that enjoyed strong demand among the locals due to their many health-giving benefits.
“The initial plan then was to sell the harvest at wet markets around the city of Magelang here in Central Java,” he quips before letting out a chuckle, saying that he would never have dared to imagine then that the humble venture would morph into something so successful today that it has become an important regional economic contributor with a 140 million rupiah (RM37,688) monthly turnover as well as a key tourist draw eclipsed only by the nearby Unesco World Heritage Borobudur Temple site.
Despite facing various challenges during those early formative years, Puput refused to throw in the towel. He persevered and successfully overcame various obstacles encountered after starting off with just 500 baglogs. Without fail, the former student of Magelang’s SMK Ma’arif Kota Mungkid woke up at the crack of dawn each day to harvest and pack the mushrooms in plastic bags before heading off to sell them at the Borobudur wet market.
Shredded oyster mushrooms are deep fried until crispy, creating an unusual but deeply addictive snack.
Exploring new horizons
Within three short years, his diligence and unquenchable thirst for knowledge resulted in vast improvements in growing techniques and production skyrocketed. A victim of his own success, Puput was faced with the new problem of sizeable unsold stock, as wet markets could only absorb 40kg to 50kg at the most daily.
Rather than watch his surplus mushrooms go to waste, Puput began exploring new horizons to use up his surplus mushrooms.
He started experimenting with value-adding processes to produce downstream products like crisps that not only extended the mushroom shelf life but also had the potential to attract new consumer segments like schoolchildren and young adults who loved snacks.
Product innovation helps ensure a bright future for Magelang’s mushroom industry.
Understanding the immense power of branding, Puput decided to associate his new product range with Central Java’s most popular and globally recognised tourist attraction by adopting the straightforward but yet easily recognisable name Jamur Borobudur or Borobudur Mushrooms.
Not resting on his laurels, Puput enrolled himself in Sekolah Tinggi Ilmu Ekonomi Pariwisata Indonesia in Semarang to gain further understanding about economics and good business practices.
A few months after moving into a larger facility that could accommodate production sheds for making the various types of snacks and crisps in 2018, Puput’s big break came when Yozua Makes happened to drop by for a visit. The prominent Indonesian lawyer, who was also deeply involved in the feel-good business of luxury resorts, memorable yacht cruises and unforgettable restaurant experiences, was impressed with both the overall setup as well as Jamur Borobudur’s product variety and quality.
With a long-held mission to contribute towards his beloved country by showcasing Indonesia’s rich culture and heritage to the world, Yozua saw a perfect fit between Jamur Borobudur and Plataran Group, his extensive hospitality business co-founded with his wife Dewi Makes.
Puput explains that the growth media consists of compacted sawdust, agricultural chalk, and finely ground poultry feed, which have been moistened sufficiently with boiled tap water.
The champion of Indonesian-made products and strong supporter of budding local entrepreneurs made every effort to use Jamur Borobudur’s mushroom crisps at all Plataran resorts and restaurants located throughout the extensive Indonesian archipelago, including Plataran Borobudur Resort & Spa and Plataran Langit Khatulistiwa, which are located within Magelang.
Ensuring sustained success
Today, visitors are free to visit Jamur Borobudur, where multi-lingual guided tours provide opportunities for both local and foreign tourists to see how the famous mushroom snacks are made. Also available are detailed educational walkabouts for students, undergraduates and aspiring entrepreneurs who are interested in the various processes involved right from the time the mushrooms are freshly harvested until they are ready to be packed in Jamur Borobudur’s trademark colourful boxes.
While admitting that production has already returned to the capacity enjoyed before the Covid-19 pandemic, Puput reveals that oyster mushroom spores require up to a month to germinate depending on the surrounding temperature and relative humidity. Harvesting, however, is relatively quicker, as only 50 hours are needed from the time the first shoots appear from the baglog. The wood ear fungus, which exhibits a superior growth rate, is ready for collection just 20 hours after spore germination.
The deep-fried mushrooms are fragile and must be carefully packed by hand to prevent breakage.
Due to the fast turnover rate, there are still sufficient nutrients left in the oyster mushroom and wood ear fungus baglogs to support up to six cycles before fresh growth media become necessary. The same, however, cannot be said for ganoderma lingzhi, where each baglog is only good for one cycle, as this extremely slow-growing fungus exhausts all nutrients by the time it is ready for harvesting after six months.
Nothing goes to waste here at Jamur Borobudur. The expanded baglogs with their exhausted growth media are given to worm farms located within the district. Although no longer suitable for growing mushrooms, these organic media are the perfect bedding material for vermiculture, which in turn produces sufficient natural fertiliser for vegetable farms in Magelang.
As Jamur Borobudur’s 16-member production team runs like a well-oiled machine using up to 70kg raw mushrooms to produce about 40kg crisps daily, Puput already has his eye on the future. Mindful that snacks alone will not be able to secure the company’s long-term success, he has recently branched out into various products using mushrooms as the primary ingredient.
So far, Jamur Borobudur’s initial forays into making mushroom bakso, sate, rendang and sambal have been very well received and this step in the right direction will surely spur Puput to continue embracing innovation to ensure a bright future for Magelang’s mushroom industry.
