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Goris Mustaqim: Making business green
Courtesy of Jerry AurumWhat can one young man possibly offer his community? Knowledge? Commitment? A better future? Well, Goris Mustaqim offers them all when it comes to tackling climate change
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Courtesy of Jerry Aurum
What can one young man possibly offer his community? Knowledge? Commitment? A better future? Well, Goris Mustaqim offers them all when it comes to tackling climate change.
At barely 26, the green entrepreneur is already miles ahead of his peers. Turning down seemingly promising career opportunities after graduating from the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB), Goris returned to his hometown of Garut in West Java. His purpose was clear: help the communities there and tackle climate change issues.
Goris, selected as one of the British Council’s International Climate Champions, is said to be a risk taker and the embodiment of Ying and Yang forces, as he dares to balance his profit-making spirit with strong environmental principles, creating the perfect dynamo for sustainable growth.
His engaging with 4,000 akar wangi (vetiver) farmers in Garut to introduce a more environment-friendly way of producing oils essentials to them, has made Goris one a few young men Indonesia can be proud of. And thanks to him, we’re reminded Indonesia is one of the world’s few producers of akar wangi.
“There are only three main places in the world where akar wangi is grown — Haiti, Bourbon and Garut,” Goris says of the exotic plant whose roots are distilled to produce the valuable fragrant essential oil.
“The world uses this kind of etheric oil as a fixative component for perfumes and cosmetics. Thus, akar wangi is one of Indonesia’s valuable assets,” he explains.
Goris’ involvement with akar wangi farmers goes back to 2005, when he witnessed their near wiping out as a result of increased fuel prices. Kerosene, he says, represents 50 percent of the production costs of akar wangi essential oil.
“So you can imagine how much this increase in fuel prices affected them,” says Goris, also the director of IT company PT Resultan Nusantara. “Some of them could no longer work on their akar wangi farms, while others were forced to farm other agricultural products.”
According to Garis, 70 of the 200 tons of akar wangi produced worldwide came from Garut before the fuel crisis. After the crisis, Garut only produced 20 tons per year, sounding alarm bells to the Indonesian government, as the country would continue losing potential profits if no action was taken to help akar wangi farmers.
After graduating from university, Garis — who wanted to help akar wangi farmers — founded the youth-based Asgar Muda Foundation in 2007, bringing together Garut youth aged 18 to 30 to develop their hometown.
The word “Asgar” stands for Asal Garut, or originated from Garut. Through the foundation, Goris collects business ideas from young people, enrolls them in his entrepreneurship workshops and sits down with them to create solid business plans.
A year later, he started researching more efficient and environment friendly ways of producing akar wangi essential oil. His idea? Use geothermal energy to replace fossil-fuel energy like kerosene, which, as we know, emits CO2 in the combustion process.
Benefits of using geothermal energy are two-fold, Goris says, environmental and financial.
“Using geothermal energy, farmers can also save on production costs and make more essential oil. So, it’s going to be more profitable for them.”
Goris did extensive research encompassing laboratory, business and community aspects. He has secured solid support from the Garut regent and the energy and mineral resources minister to relocate akar wangi farmers to the Kamujang area in Garut, next to a geothermal power plant. Goris even succeeded in lobbying the government to include this relocation plan in its 2010 state budget.
“Lastly, we need the green light from [state-owned company] Pertamina to carry out this project in its power plant [in Kamujang],” Goris says. “As soon as Pertamina says yes, we can carry out this plan, helping those akar wangi farmers in a more environmentally friendly way.
“It’s a ready-to-go plan because we have already secured the budget from the government,” he adds.
The government, as well as the British Council Indonesia — who named him one of its youth green ambassadors — was definitely impressed by Goris. Nita Irawati Murjani, the organization’s consultant on climate security, says Goris is an ideal future leader as he is willing to take the risk and return to his homeland to develop the place rather than start his career in a big city full of promises like Jakarta.
“He’s an ITB graduate who had 1,001 reasons to go for a better career in the city,” says Nita. “But he took the risk to go back to Garut and empower the people there. He even opened the eyes of the young people in Garut, making them understand that Garut has so much potential to be developed,” she adds.
Goris’ effort to initiate the Garut Summit, an event that promoted the richness of Garut — its tourism, agriculture and creative industry, are telling signs of a future leader.
“There are many youth movements, but most of them are against the government,” says Nita. “These young people are very critical, creating enemies, barriers and tensions along the way.”
“But a young man like Goris, you see, inspires other youth. Because he offers concrete solutions to
problems in this country, he could also win the heart of the government,” she adds.
Goris, she says, is seeding the way for young people to realize their professional dreams, while also doing his part to reduce the problem of climate change. And for his “climate entrepreneurship”, the British Council sent Goris to represent the Indonesian youth at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Goris and his fellow Inggried Dwi Wedhaswary will go on a “green journey” to remind the world about the outcome of the 2007 UNFCCC in Bali, the Bali Roadmap.
“Some people believe climate change is happening, while others don’t,” Goris says. “That’s fine. But the thing is, if we save energy, this planet will be a much better place. That’s real, and cannot be argued with,” he smiles.
