Komariah: Hooked by fish food business

KOMARIAH: (JP/Toto Dartoyo)

In the middle of 2000, Komariah took part in an abon training program at the Industry and Trade Department office of Purwakarta Regency.

She was determined: She wanted to learn to make abon -- shredded meat that has been boiled and fried -- with the hope of developing and running a small abon business out of her home in Tegalbuah village in Purwakarta regency.

After she had finished the training program, the Industry and Trade Department lent her a stove, a press, an oil filter and Rp 250,000 (US$27) so she could buy the raw materials to make abon.

The equipment, valued at Rp 2 million (US$215), was to later be returned to the department or purchased through installments.

As she began, Komariah thought about making abon with meat other than beef -- and the calm waters of Jatiluhur Reservoir, near her home, provided inspiration.

"At that time the Jatiluhur Reservoir was a center of fish production, which had been made into a business by fishermen using floating nets," Komariah told The Jakarta Post recently.

"There were many nila fish and carp. Every day thousands of kilograms of mujair fish, nila and carp were hauled out from that reservoir and sold. That gave me the idea and the determination to produce abon from nila," the 38-year-old mother of three said.

Komariah began to implement the knowledge she had gained from the abon training program and applied it to her idea. She boiled the flesh of the fish, and after chilling it, pounded it into a mince or paste.

She then mixed the mince with other ingredients and fried it. Once fried, it was drained and pressed using the press machine to ensure it was completely dry. The product was then ready to be packed.

"The process is actually quite easy. Anybody can do it," Komariah said.

Her fish-meat abon proved to be unique and the taste was as good as that of abon made from beef. Komariah then began to market her product at tourist areas near Jatiluhur Reservoir.

She starting selling her product to the retailers around the reservoir, who, after tasting her fish abon, asked her to increase the supply.

Komariah initially used 40 kilograms of nila each week to produce her abon. With increasing demand for her product, she now requires more than 90 kilograms of the fish a week.

After processing, the 90 kilograms of fresh fish produces around 20 kilograms of abon. Komariah sells her product for Rp 10,000 per ounce (US$1).

Komariah can now make a profit of around Rp 1 million (US$110) per month.

"Of course, that depends on the orders. If the orders increase, my earnings also increase," she said.

After becoming successful at setting up her own business, Komariah wanted to spread her knowledge to other women in her village so they could earn an income and avoid having to work overseas.

"Many women were forced to seek employment overseas because in their village they were poor. I wanted to prove that housewives from poor families could live a life independently and be successful," she said.

To empower the women, Komariah taught her neighbors how to make her abon product. After many women picked up the skill, Komariah formed a business association, which later received a loan from a district development program supported by the World Bank and the National Development Planning Board.

"Praise God, now my neighbors are able to sell alongside the reservoir. My business has also been helped and more and more businesses are developing," Komariah said.

After taking part in an exhibition at the regency level, where she promoted her abon, Komariah was appointed to represent the Purwakarta Regency at a provincial level exhibition. At that exhibition she met university students from the school of economics of the University of Indonesia.

Some weeks later, Komariah received a letter inviting her to take part in the national level selection in Jakarta. There she was chosen as the winner from 402 participants from all over Indonesia.

Her achievement also bore other fruit: Komariah received the Global Microentrepreneurship Award 2005 from the United Nations Development Program in the category of Small to Medium Enterprises using less than Rp 5 million (US$550) capital.

"After receiving the award I registered my nila abon with the Justice Department to get the patent rights using the name 'Abon Komariah Fish'," she said proudly.

Other awards have followed her success. Among them are awards from the trade minister and the Purwakarta subdistrict head. But although she has won awards at the national and international levels, Komariah said she was still learning.

"Every time there is a training program, I always take part. This is because I want to increase my knowledge and skills."

She is now actively involved in teaching leaders in her groups: She has now trained two groups in her village, Group 1 Anggrek Business and Group 2 Anggrek Business. All the members are women who dropped out of school or who are widows or divorcees.

Komariah said she hoped Jatiluhur could become a center of nila abon as well as a center of other home industry businesses.