PARIGI MOUTONG (May 6, 2024) - The palm sugar craftsmen in Ogotumubu Village, Parigi Moutong Regency, Central Sulawesi Province are very grateful to the Ministry of Social Affairs. Because of the role and assistance of the Ministry of Social Affairs, the welfare of residents has improved, even they can afford a house and no longer have difficulty to send their children to school.

"If not helped by the Ministry of Social Affairs, there is no way we could be like this," said Asri, Head of the Aren Farmers Group, who is a resident of the Remote Indigenous Community (KAT) in Ogotumubu Village, Tomini District, Parigi Moutong Regency, Sunday (5/5). The village, located on Tomini Bay, is about 300 kilometers north of Palu, the capital of Central Sulawesi Province.

The residents' success began in 2018 when the Ministry of Social Affairs assisted 77 heads of families of the Remote Indigenous Community (KAT) Dusun V Molomamua, Ogotumubu Village in the construction of social settlements in the form of 73-unit houses. In addition, the Ministry of Social Affairs also provides life insurance assistance, work equipment, household equipment, and social assistance.

During the mentoring program, residents who usually make palm sugar from tapping sap and processing it into sugar, are changed by the Ministry of Social Affairs. It is not too difficult to change from the habit of making palm sugar to ant sugar, because the raw materials are the same and available in abundance in the village. Only the final process is different. When processed into ant sugar, the selling price immediately rises sharply. Previously, from processing palm sugar, the crafters only earned IDR 500,000-IDR 700,000 each time, but now that the nira liquid has been processed into ant sugar, the price has risen sharply to around IDR 2,000,000 with the same amount of raw materials. "Marketing is not difficult either," said Dini, a KAT facilitator of ant sugar makers in Ogotumubu Village.

Consumers of ant sugar are mostly cafes and star hotels that need ant sugar to mix coffee, tea, or other foods. The crafters usually call it “Kemensos ant sugar” because the process begins with training and mentoring by the Ministry of Social Affairs. Now residents feel the benefits of the change in processing palm sugar into ant sugar because the income and welfare of residents have increased. "Thank you Ministry of Social Affairs for helping and empowering us," Asri said in a steady voice.