His strong instincts encouraged Samsul to start exploring coffee commodities. While in his village, in Maniis Village, Cingambul District, Majalengka Regency, he studied coffee from practitioners and farmers on Mount Ciremai, Kuningan, and Ciamis. Then slowly began to approach the farmers. The majority of this village community manages pine and coffee forests. One farmer unit provides education and training related to coffee cultivation and good harvesting methods.
What was done went well. Other farmers began to follow in Samsul’s footsteps. The coffee market is taking shape. Farmers find places to sell coffee from their gardens. The market that Samsul pioneered made farmers confident in the guarantee market. The number of farmers is increasing, until now 20 farmers have been partnered with Samsul. They deposit twice a week, with a production capacity of 80-100 kg per person.
As a young man who was born and grew up in Maniis Village, the conditions of the pandemic have pushed him to become a sociopreneur in the coffee commodity and to establish the Eskopian Coffee Shop. This shop is located at a bend in the main road between Kuningan Regency and towards Ciamis, Garut or Tasikmalaya. A shop with a contemporary design. On its side is the expanse of rice fields and with a background of community forests and coffee plantations. The Eskopian shop stands proudly on the edge of the people’s forest.
“Now they are excited to take care of their coffee,” continued Samsul enthusiastically. “At the same time they understand good coffee cultivation, to get quality coffee beans. Now there are three mountains full of coffee. Apart from Manis, there are also Mandala and Cintaasih Villages,” added Samsul.
The advantage is also being one of the 4 largest coffee roasters in his city, Majalengka. If you do the math, he can process around 5-8 tons of coffee beans in two months. Most of the coffee shops in Cianjur become the market. Also starting to enter the neighborhood of Majalengka, Ciamis and Cianjur. Even now, they have exported green beans to Cairo and Abu Dhabi.
Samsul Arifin, his full name, is the first guest at the Lestarilah Indonesia virtual talk show. Lestarilah Indonesia is a space to discuss the future sustainability of Indonesia. This program is a collaborative space initiated by the Indonesian Tropical Nature Institute (LATIN) and Remark Asia. Periodically this activity will be released every week by inviting various sources from activists, practitioners, and figures who play a role in maintaining environmental sustainability, especially in the social world of forestry.
Youth was chosen as the starting point for the discourse as well as opening the edition of the Lestarilah Indonesia series. The first invitation went to Samsul, a young village activist from the outskirts of the forest in Majalengka.
Coffee development innovations are also continuously carried out by farmers. For example, by mixing coffee plants with lemon trees, cloves and ginger. It turns out that the taste of coffee will follow from the plants planted around the coffee. Lemon is a mainstay of coffee companion plants. Loved by customers but harvesting lemons is also an additional income for the community.
One of the things that annoys him now is young people who migrate out a lot. While those who still survive also do not choose farming as a profession. Even though the potential of Maniis Village in agriculture is extraordinary. He proved that the village is capable of providing more than enough life and livelihood.
He has big dreams, his coffee is not only circulating in Majalengka but throughout West Java. Exports can also be increased to other countries. He is a symbol of inspiring young people in the social world of forestry. (NA).