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esidents of Kebon Jeruk sub-district, West Jakarta, have been planting orange trees in their yards in a bid to reclaim the area'€™s past.

Subdistrict secretary Achmad Mawardi said that decades ago Dutch colonists living in the area had planted citrus trees in their yards '€” thus the neighborhood was given the name Kebon Jeruk (orange grove).

'€œThe colonists had many orange trees in community units [RW] 2, 3 and other RWs,'€ he said.

Achmad said, however, the number of orange trees decreased after Indonesia gained independence when locals chopped them down to build homes and public buildings.

Now he said residents were committed to again planting orange trees. '€œTo reflect its name, we will make it so people again find many orange groves in this subdistrict,'€ he said.

To get the ball rolling, sub-district officials planted three types of citrus tree '€” lime, lemon and kip '€” in the yard of their office building.

'€œWe decided to plant lime, lemon and kip orange trees because they can bear fruit quickly'€ he said, adding that they had multiple uses, from cooking spices to herbs.

He said that the subdistrict'€™s head, Naman Setiawan, had also instructed 13 RW heads and 133 heads of neighborhood units (RT) to plant orange trees in front of their houses to inspire residents to follow suit.

According to Achmad, Naman then asked developer companies PT Wisma AKR and PT Kasagoya to promote the subdistrict'€™s program by helping provide orange seeds for residents as part of their corporate social responsibility measures.

 '€œWisma and Kasagoya donated around 750 and 500 orange seeds, respectively, in December 2013,'€ he said.

 Achmad went on to say that the number of orange seeds planted since 2013 had now reached around 1,000. '€œWe expect that the number will reach 10,000 by 2016.'€

 He added that when the harvest season came, the 10,000 orange trees were expected to produce around 8 tons of oranges. '€œResidents will enjoy many benefits from the high number of harvested oranges in two years'€™ time,'€ he said.

 The deputy head of the Family Welfare Movement (PKK), Ibu Subagio, said that she, along with PKK members, could make the herbal drink Jahe Limo (Jalimo) with limes planted by the residents.

'€œWe can earn additional income by selling Jalimo,'€ she said, adding that when Jalimo was exhibited at the Flona (Flora and Fauna) exhibition at the Banteng Park in Central Jakarta last week, many visitors bought it.

Achmad said that the sub-district officials would keep planting orange seeds, especially in public spaces such as the gardens of sub-precinct police (Polsek) and local administration (Pemda) offices. (alz)