Vision: A teenage dream of possessing a factory-made tent led Joni to turn out his own designs. (JP/P.J. Leo)

Out of the sheer desire to own a good tent from a famous brand name that he saw during his mountaineering ventures, Joni Sudarmono strived to make the shelter he craved by using wheat-flour sacks coated with plastic to protect it from rain and dew.

Through assiduous attempts and the regular use of the tents he crafted for his climbing and other outdoor pursuits, Joni '€” whose nickname is Jontend, from Joni tenda (Joni the tent) '€” received an enthusiastic response from his friends and fellow climbers for his ingenuity in creating novel equipment.

The sack tents marked the start of Jontend'€™s hobby-based business, which attracted the interest of mountaineers and outdoor adventurers in his products.

Unexpectedly, his teenage dream of possessing a factory-made tent has now enabled him to turn out his own designs with the same market-brand materials and quality.

Khyber-Pass, Authentic Outdoor Gear is the brand developed by Jontend.

Unlike their factory-made counterparts, Khyber-Pass tents are made to order instead of being mass produced and they can'€™t be found at outdoor shops.

Besides attending to his orders for tents in various sizes and colors, Jontend also repairs damaged tents and offers backpacks and other outdoor accessories.

Toto Purwanto, an experienced climber from Bandung, West Java, met Jontend on Mount Semeru, East Java, in 2008. '€œI saw Jontend'€™s tent on Semeru'€™s summit. I immediately told him I was ready to pay for it and order another one in the model and color I chose,'€ said Toto.

'€œJontend'€™s products are in no way inferior to those of other manufacturers. Despite his young age, he is already independently running his outdoor gear business,'€ Toto added. According to him, Khyber-Pass tents have double plastic seam seals to prevent water seepage and they are a '€œbathtub'€ type, so they can resist strong winds and heavy rain.

'€œCamping always needs tents. As the number of climbers increases, so the demand for tents also rises. So, I'€™ve chosen my business line,'€ Jontend said. There are various types of tents, like popular dome tents, tunnel tents that are mostly used in tropical areas, geodesic tents for snowy mountains and A-frame tents for large teams of climbers.

Jontend has always been attracted by domes, which are now the dominant model of his tent business. Most climbers and outdoor enthusiasts are fond of dome shelters due to their moderate size and portability. Made from parachute nylon and supporting fiber frames, domes also have waterproof outer covers (or flysheets) and are easy to erect.

Dome tents come in such types as Kapuas, Barito and Citarik domes, which differ only in their additional shelter covers. '€œDomes have an inner lining made from a breathable or non-waterproof material to overcome condensation from body heat and cooking, besides outer waterproof flysheets,'€ Jontend said.

'€œThe supporting frames are made from fiberglass, which is less expensive. Though breakable, this material is quite good and very light. It'€™s widely used for dome and tunnel tents in tropical regions. Aluminum frames are a better alternative for their durability and resistance to bad weather,'€ he added.

'€œAt first I designed and cut wheat-flour sacks to suit the shape and size of tents used by fellow climbers. I sewed the pieces together with the sewing machine belonging to my mother, who makes pillowcases and bedspreads,'€ he said, recalling his high school years.

'€œI had no sewing skills but the business opportunity forced me to learn, and I was able to use my mother'€™s machine without having to pay for it,'€ said Jontend, who was born in Jakarta in 1976 and is married to Neni Afriyani.

'€œMy husband is a hard worker. I noticed that the first time I met him in Cirebon [West Java] in 1999 when we climbed Mount Ceremai,'€ Neni said. '€œHe was immersed not only in climbing but also in all its equipment and accessories.'€

The Ceremai encounter led to their marriage in 2004. They lived in Pondok Kelapa, East Jakarta, before the Khyber-Pass base camp moved to a housing complex in Bekasi in October. Jontend bought the house with the income from his tent business.

Neni left her job with a dispensary last year to help her husband. '€œI quit my job to concentrate on supporting Jontend'€™s business. He'€™s been working all by himself, from sewing tents and backpacks to organizing mountaineering trips,'€ she explained.

Jontend'€™s parents come from Ngawi, East Java, and the family moved to Cirebon when he was a third-grader, when his police officer father was reassigned. Jontend was active in outdoor adventures as a junior high school student. Graduating from vocational high school in 1995, he moved to Jakarta where he worked in a Japanese restaurant for two years.

'€œAs I loved outdoor activities, I requested leave of 10 days in 1998 to go mountain climbing but the restaurant only gave me four days. So, I just went on climbing and didn'€™t return to work. Later, I decided to go back to Cirebon,'€ Jontend said. Despite his intention to launch an outdoor gear business, Jontend ended up working for a timber company.

He worked for the timber business for a few years until he married in 2004, when he decided to return to tent making.

Khyber-Pass began to thrive and his products became highly sought. He embarked on small and large climbing treks, expanding to areas further afield and beyond Java, such as Mount Kerinci (Sumatra), Mount Agung (Bali) and Mount Rinjani (Lombok).

The outdoor program has been an integral part of Jontend'€™s campaign to promote his products, which are now the favorites among beginners as well as experienced mountaineers.

'€œMountaineering is not about reveling; we'€™re learning from the environment,'€ he stressed.

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