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Banana snack industry goes stale

Not so long ago, the Central Java town of Majenang was famous for being the home of sale pisang, a unique snack made with bananas, but recently the market changed and the local snack industry faded to a fraction of its former success. Majenang, one of 23 districts in Cilacap regency in the far west of the province - bordering with Banjar and Ciamis regencies in West Java - has about 30 small factories producing the snack. Before the 1998 economic crisis, there were around 100 such producers, leading Cilacap administration to come up with the idea of making the snack the icon of Majenang. But with the crisis, the plan hit snags and many cottage industries were forced out of business. More than a decade later, the situation has yet to improve. "Before the crisis I could sell 2 or 3 tons of fried banana sweets to Jakarta. But things are difficult now," Yayat, a 61-year-old sale pisang business owner, told The Jakarta Post in Majenang. Today, Yayat produces only about 200 kilograms of sale pisang a month, and 99 percent of this is sold in Majenang. The snacks are sold in 250-gram packages, each costing around Rp 25,000 (US$2). Another snack producer, Juremi, said that before the crisis she could send 2 tons of sale pisang to Jakarta, Bandung and Surabaya each month. "Now we only sell sale pisang for the local market," the 60-year-old said. Juremi said most of the snack producers were struggling to survive. "What's important is that business survives. If there are buyers in the city, that's enough. Sometimes we get an order from outside the city, but this is unreliable," she said. "Once, a distributor from outside the city wanted to place an order, but the price he offered was too low to cover our production costs. Rather than suffering losses, we preferred not to take it." Making sale pisang does not take long. Ripe bananas are cut into slices and dried in the sun. "If the sun is bright, the bananas will dry out in two days. But in a rainy season like this, it takes about four days," Juremi said. The dried bananas are then smeared with flour and deep-fried. After being drained, the banana chips are ready to be packaged and sold. The sale pisang business has supported many, including farmers and traders who sell raw bananas to cottage industries in Majenang, as well as banana snack makers such as Juremi and Yayat, and the vendors. Majenang district head, Heru Susedyo, said he was aware of the stagnant business situation. "Sale pisang was once so popular that the Cilacap administration planned to make it the icon of Majenang city, but the plan could not be realized because sales keep decreasing." http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2009/03/06/

Sunday 30 November 2008

banana cake recipes

ers to be rude, silent eaters can be as rude judges elsewhere. Are you supposed to Slurp, smack your lips or BURP, or will that get you into trouble? In some countries, it's not even an issue. Be sure to practice ahead of time, as these are some of the hardest habits to change, and doing the * new * thing might have your parents Screaming in the back of your head! 4. Quantities I learned a lesson years ago as a student in Berlin. I became friends with my Lebanese neighbors - we were the same age, 20, yet our cultural backgrounds could not have been more different. They had two adorable little daughters, ages 4 and 2, and a third on the way. The mom did not speak German, and I did not speak Arabic, so the quality helped us communicate in broken German. For the most part, we made do with Gestures and drawing pictures. We enjoyed each others' company. One occasion stands out vividly in my mind. I had been over in the afternoon and was served coffee and cookies while we were looking at family pictures. I was not used to drinking coffee, and theirs was very strong. I had drunk what was in my little cup was offered and more. Even though I declined, I was served more. I drank it as slowly as I could, my head already Buzzing. When I got to the end of that cup and thanked my host and made it clear that I really did not want any more. She got up and made more. Why would she make more coffee when I just said I had had plenty? I did not want to be rude, so I drank the new cup. I decided to get up and leave right after finishing, so she could not give me more and escape the situation. What was going on? The mystery was solved several weeks later, when I invited my friend and her two little girls to come over for some cake and apple juice. It dawn on me only after they had left - there was cake left on every plate, and apple juice in every cup. Bingo! In their tradition, you show your host that you've had enough by leaving a little in your glass and thereby demonstrating that you are satisfied. My diligence in drinking up all the coffee in my cup was a sign for her that she had not given me enough and she would make more and more until I left some in there. How rude I must have appeared to her to "demand" so much coffee! In the country of your choice, how do you signal that you'd like more, or that you're done? Are you supposed to eat all that's on your plate? How many courses will have the meal? Do you need to "save some space" for what's coming? What do you do with parts of the food that can not be eaten - Peels, bones and such? 5. I do not eat "X" Refusing food is considered rude just about anywhere. Your host has spent hours preparing a meal, and you're not going to eat what's on the table? What if you're offered food that you can not handle psychologically, or if you know that your business partners can tolerate way more alcohol than you? Some situations are tricky. My father tells of several occasions where he was the honor guest at a business meal in China. He was offered the "best" pieces - parts of animals that he had never considered eating before. There was no way out, and would have been Refusing to slight to the hosts. What to do? "Augen zu und durch!" A German expression to say: "Close your eyes and go through with it!" If there are things you absolutely can not stomach, come up with a good reason for Refusing. Generally, religious reasons and health concerns ( "my doctor said") are acceptable. Be sure to be consistent! 6. Communicate! Before you go, find someone who can coach you during a meal. Ask the person to point out any serious mistakes and possible deadends. Be as prepared as you can. One resource that has helped me is a Lonely Planet travel guide. It is very superficial, but it will teach you the basics. Even if you think you know the rules, let your host or a colleague know that you're not familiar with all aspects of the eating etiquette. This is a case where "asking for permission" is preferable to "asking for forgiveness!" Then watch carefully how everybody else behaves and try not to deviate. Good luck! If you want to see just how well you know what you're supposed to do at meals around the world, Humorous take this little test: Making chocolate involves a long process, from the cacao tree to the hands of the farmers to the factory to the hands of the master chocolate maker. From Nature to the Chocolate Factory comes from processed cocoa beans, harvested from the cacao tree. Cacao trees only grow in tropical climates, 10 to 20 degrees north and south of the equator. The first cocoa trees grew in the Amazon basins, north of Brazil. Today it is grown and cultivated in many tropical countries such as Ghana, Brazil, Nigeria and the Ivory Coast, which are also four of the largest cocoa growers in the world. Strive cocoa trees in warm and humid weather with little or no wind. They like rich soil loose and shaded sunlight, usually growing under the shade of trees workshop such as coconut, banana and rubber trees. Cocoa trees are harvested only twice a year. The pods, where the seeds or the beans can be harvested, take
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