The first Festival Indikasi Geografis (Geographical Indication Festival) shone a much-deserved spotlight on signature commodities from across the archipelago.

Artisanal Amed salt from Bali and aromatic Koerintji cinnamon sticks from Jambi were among the products displayed at the festival, held at Central Park Mall in Jakarta on Dec. 8. The festival was initiated by the Creative Economy Agency (Bekraf).

Under the theme of “Know Its Origin!”, the festival invited the public to learn more about Indonesia’s geographical indication products — which refers to goods that have a specific geographical origin and possess qualities or a reputation that derive from that origin.

“It’s important to shed light on them because most geographical indication products are raw materials from the creative economy’s subsectors, such as [...] the culinary [sector],” said Bekraf’s deputy head for intellectual property rights, Ari Juliano Gema.

Moreover, as Ari explained, the intellectual property rights of a geographical indication product belonged to the community that produced it.

Indonesia’s geographical indication products — such as Arabica coffee from Gayo in Aceh and milkfish from Sidoarjo in East Java — are not only special because of their distinct quality and characteristics, but also their strong correlation with their region of origin.

Thus, such products can convey the characteristics of its region, such as its natural and human environments.

While most of the 61 booths displayed the trending commodity of coffee, one booth presented a humble yet special product: salt. It was Amed organic sea salt, which is produced by a community of salt makers in Amed, Karangasem, Bali.

The salt makers use a traditional production method that dates back more than 500 years. They crystalize the sea water on vessels made from coconut tree logs called palungan.

“The main difference is that Amed salt does not contain iodine,” said an Amed salt representative Made Waktu. “The salt is also grainier in texture and does not have the bitterness of usual salt.”

Another booth offered Koerintji cinnamon, also known as korintje cinnamon, from the Kerinci regency of Jambi. The brownish glow of the cinnamon sticks is visually captivating, and attracted many curious visitors to the booth.

The spice was first cultivated by Dutch colonialists in 1895. After Indonesia achieved independence, the people of Kerinci carried on the tradition of planting cassia trees and cultivating the inner bark to be made into cinnamon sticks.

Cinnamon sticks are categorized into grades based on the tree’s age. The older the tree, the better cinnamon it produces.

“It takes a long time to harvest this cinnamon. One particular grade comes from a 25-year-old tree,” said Shinta from Koerintji cinnamon

Among the 50 different coffee varieties offered at the festival, Flores Manggarai Arabica coffee stood out the most.

Planted on the plateau of Manggarai on Flores Island, East Nusa Tenggara, the coffee plants grow in a high-precipitation environment.

“We only use the best ripe red coffee cherries for this coffee,” said Bony Oldam Romas, who sold Flores Manggarai Arabica coffee at the booth.

The coffee boasts a sweet fragrance with a hint of spice. The taste has a combination of fruity, nutty, and chocolaty flavors.

Aside from the product exhibition, visitors to the Geographical Indication Festival were also entertained by a cooking demonstration and performances by singer Tompi and the band ten2five.

Ari from Bekraf expressed hope the festival could become an annual event.

“I hope Indonesia can learn more about geographical indication products. Through this event, they can directly see and taste the products,” Ari said.

The writer is an intern at The Jakarta Post

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