by
Charles Roring
It was twelve in the afternoon when we arrived in Rambunan. It is several kilometers from Sonder, the administration center of the sub-regency. Here, the villagers means of livelihood are rice farming, palm sugar making and coconut plantation. One or two kilometers before entering the village, we could see saguer trees. Here, the farmers take the sap and cook it for making the gula merah (palm sugar). The sap is tapped from the palm blossom. Its taste has to be sweet. To produce sweet sap, farmers must wash the bamboo tube container until it is free from the previous sap.
Palm sugar made in this village is considered the best in Minahasa. The farmers do not add any chemical substance in it. So the produce can be called organic palm sugar. It color is similar to chocolate. The palm sugar from Rambunan is not only sold in Minahasa but also in other regions outside Minahasa such as Maluku, Papua,Kalimantan, Central and South Sulawesi; and Java.
Palm sugar is used in many Minahasan foods. One of my favorites is dodol. It is made of glutinous rice, coconut milk and palm sugar. It takes around five to six hours to cook it. Its taste is very delicious better than chocolate. If you have the chance to go to Sonder, you can ask the villagers where you can order. Most of the villagers know how to make it. Dodol made by the villagers is also a kind of home industry in Minahasa.
The road in the village is full of holes. It is a quiet village. I saw mothers, girls and children sat in front of their houses talking and laughing. When we stopped our motorcycles, all of the villagers eyes turn to us. I took some pictures of the houses and began asking from them if there were some men making the sugar.
They replied that the villagers usually make the sugar early in the morning. So if I want to see it, I will have to go there before the farmers leave their homes. They make the sugar in their gardens.
Unfortunately, I couldn't make it.
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