The Carbohydrate Food-Reprocessing Workshop – A Positive Solution to Add Income for Low-Earning Communities in Solo City.

A conducted research on carbohydrate and vegetable consumption in Solo city households revealed that of 275 families spread across 11 urban villages in 5 districts eat 3 - 4 times a day in 2017. Three main staple foods are regularly consumed: rice, boiled bananas and white bread. About 90% of respondents in Solo city consumed 292.18 grams of rice or equivalent of 150 grams of rice per day. Nearly all of the respondents (98.9%) cooked their rice.

It was estimated that rice leftovers cooked at home were about 100 grams, and 20 grams of rice leftovers bought from the outside. The management of leftover foods has been good as they were made into animal food, and some were processed into other dishes such as fried rice, rice crackers and cakes.

Karak, a rice cracker, is one of the favourite snacks in Solo city. People usually eat it along with rice and serve as a side dish. There is a saying that eating is not complete without being accompanied by a cracker. Karak is also a special souvenir of Solo city.

Although carbohydrate leftovers have been reprocessed into other types of food, many home-based businesses and other processed food remain using banned food additives such as borax, artificial dyes and artificial flavours. Thus, to improve the knowledge and skills of home-based entrepreneurs, medical service staff, orphanage workers and young people in processing leftover food, a food-reprocessing workshop must be organised.

Rikolto in collaboration with Gita Pertiwi NGO has conducted a carbohydrate food-reprocessing workshop for low-income communities in SMKN 4 Solo City on last February 7, 2018. The workshop involved 30 participants from various institutions and organisations, including home-based entrepreneurs, elderly nursing home, orphanage, family welfare movement, and high schools in Solo city area.

The Principal of SMKN 4 Solo City, Indonesian Department of Agriculture of Solo City, and Department of Food Security and Fisheries Management attended and officially opened the workshop. The workshop then began with an explanation of food processing principle theories delivered by a Dietitian from Sebelas Maret University.

Mrs Candra, a representative of Konsumen Pangan Sehat Solo City (KOPANSERA) said that she was pleased with the workshop because she learned to make a healthy Karak by using safe food additives. She further explained, “Pukis (coconut milk) and Lumpur (mud) cakes can also be alternative choices when reprocessing rice or tuber leftovers”. She also added, “this workshop is very beneficial to young people and stay-at-home mothers because they can cook varied healthy dishes for their family and as an additional source of income”.

Ika dan Yono, SMK 4 Solo city students, commented, “we finally understood what our teachers have taught us, and we could get new experiences because we learned many recipes, and food innovation ideas. We will surely share knowledge gained from this workshop with our friends by cooking together at home”.

The workshop ended with a cooking demonstration of reprocessing leftover rice and tuber into Karak, Pukis and Lumpur cakes, which participants were divided into four groups. Meanwhile, Ikatan Ahli Boga Indonesia (IKABOGA) board representatives and SMK 4 Solo City teachers facilitated the cooking demonstration.

This carbohydrate food-reprocessing workshop was an event implemented in Solo city as a pilot project of Food Smart City, and the workshop will also be held in Depok and Bandung in West Java with the funding support from the Ford Foundation.