Powerful and Empowering Orchids

KOMPAS/KOMPAS/DEFRI WERDIONO

Dedek Setia Santoso

Twelve years ago, Dedek Setia Santoso, 41, began to seriously focus on orchid cultivation in Batu, East Java. Only with an initial capital of Rp 25,000, now the business continues to grow. With a turnover of hundreds of millions of rupiah per month, he empowered dozens of villagers as plasma farmers.

In addition to dozens of employees, Dedek\'s house and orchid farm in Dadaprejo sub-district, Junrejo district on Wednesday (14/8/2019) afternoon was also crowded with dozens of university and high school students who were on internship program.

Some of them were busy caring for orchids and transferring orchid seeds from bottles into small pots. Others were packing orchid plants into cardboard boxes for delivery.

"Everyone is allowed to learn about orchids in this place for free. They can stay and eat here. It\'s all free," Dedek said. Various universities and high schools have sent their students to this place to learn.

Under the banner of DD Orchid Nursery, the total area of the long-haired man\'s farm reaches 2,500 square meters. Inside the farm is a seeding laboratory of up to thousands of (pure) and hybrid (cross) orchid species. A number of endangered species also exist, such as the tie orchid (Bulbophyllum phalaenopsis) and Dendrobium laisanthera.

Apart from the orchids from almost all regions in Indonesia, Dedek\'s orchid collection also comes from a number of countries, such as Brazil, Mexico and South Africa. Likewise, DD Orchid Nursery market share is not only domestic. Dedek also sent orchids to consumers in a number of countries, such as Spain, the Netherlands, Russia and Switzerland.

"There are actually many requests from overseas, but there are constraints regarding regulations. There must be a permit from the Natural Resources Conservation Agency [BKSDA], the quarantine, the forestry agency, the agriculture office and others. This is a burden on its own," he said.

For the domestic market, Dedek\'s Margaret Thatcher orchid (Dendrobium type) was once sold for Rp 40 million. The orchid was bought by a collector from Bandung, West Java, four years ago. Other hybrid orchids are valued hundreds of thousands to tens of millions of rupiah.

Unlike most nurseries, Dedek gives added value to his cross orchid products. He gives consumers the opportunity to use their name on orchids (exclusive products) that they purchased by registering them at the Royal Horticultural Society in England.

Starting from a hobby

Dedek began to seriously do orchids farming since 2007. Previously, he worked different jobs. Sometimes he worked at a catering business or worked at the rice fields and collected grass for the livestock.

"Initially it was from a hobby. I like planting and raising animals," he said. When he graduated from university, he had difficulty finding work. Finally, Dedek focused on his hobby of orchid farming. With a capital of Rp 25,000, Dedek\'s first farm was 1 x 0.5 square meter in the yard of his parents\' house in Dadaprejo.

His first orchid was Dendrobium striaenopsis from Ambon, Maluku. He treated the orchid well. Not long after that a friend introduced Dedek to other farmers. From there Dedek got orchid seeds that were still in bottles. These orchids were later grown in a small container and sold. In the beginning, as someone with an experience as a catering worker, he made use of used plastic cups from ceremonies as a medium to grow the orchid.

Dedek offered his orchid seeds to the flower market in Malang and at tourist sites in Batu. He only left the orchid at a price of Rp 2,500-Rp 3,000 per cup (glass of mineral water). Because there was demand and business potential, Dedek wanted to create his own culture of tissue.

He also tried to ask questions about the tips on orchid cultivation. However, many successful orchid farmers are reluctant to share their knowledge, reasoning that it is “a company secret”. Dedek finally chose to learn semi-self-taught from books.

After his business started, in 2009 Dedek began renting land. He began to invite other villagers to follow his steps. Dedek not only taught them how to grow orchids, but also shared seeds for free. Unfortunately, of the 25 residents involved at that time, only one person was successful.

Dedek makes the farmers as partners and looks for markets. Farmers earn around Rp 5 million to Rp 10 million per month. At present, a total of 40 people have become plasma with a total land area of around 1.5 hectares.

"Initially, the farmers were not immediately convinced [about the business]," said Dedek. They consider orchids not to be sold, they cannot be eaten like vegetables they normally grow. Dedek succeeded in convincing the farmers to cultivate orchids which was also a solution for farmers whose land was getting narrower.

Dedek involved many local young people in his business. While in other areas many young people were reluctant to pursue agriculture, in Dadaprejo it is the opposite. In the past year, local youth group Karang Taruna has also been involved in making batik with orchid motifs. Dedek also works with a local garbage bank to provide recycled packaging for wedding souvenirs made from orchids.

Dedek Setia Santoso

Born: Malang, 21 June 1978

Wife: Okta Risma Yani

Child: Danis Satria Santoso

Education:

- SDN Dadaprejo 1

- SMP PGRI Dau Malang

- SMA Shalahuddin Malang

- Faculty of Administration, Brawijaya University

Award:

- Three time national winner in National Orchid Contest