ASIATODAY.ID, SENTANI – Masyarakat Adat Sentani held today its second Sago Festival to showcase innovative sago processing and derivative products in Babrongko customary village.
It was the first festival to be hosted by Masyarakat Adat Babrongko, with the support of Ministry of Agriculture of Indonesia, New Zealand Embassy to Indonesia through the Head of Embassy Fund (HEF), and Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
The festival featured Masyarakat Adat’s demonstrations of sago processing using machines in small-scale shelter units, which have been built in Babrongko customary village with the support of the Ministry of Agriculture, New Zealand Embassy and FAO. With the machines, community members can process sago into starch within two hours for each trunk, as opposed to two days manually, and enjoy a 150% increase in yields.
The festival commenced with the handover of the shelter unit from New Zealand Ambassador to Indonesia Phillip Taula and FAO Representative in Indonesia and Timor-Leste Rajendra Aryal to Jayapura Regent Yunus Wonda and Babrongko customary leader Ramses Wally, marking Masyarakat Adat’s ownership of the facility.
“We name the facility Holei Nyarei, which means giving life to the people. With this facility, we can produce up to 20 sacks of sago starch, higher than six sacks with manual processing. As a result, locals can improve their income, pay for their children’s school tuition as well as their medical bills,” said Babrongko customary leader Ramses Wally on November 18, 2025.
Papua has the second largest sago palm plantations in Indonesia, but manual, time-consuming sago processing has constrained its contributions to the local economy. The province records the lowest food security index in Indonesia, indicating an urgent need for localized solutions.
“The Ministry of Agriculture continues to support increasing added value for farmers. The Babrongko initiative demonstrates that empowering Masyarakat Adat through appropriate technology and training can improve farmers’ livelihoods while strengthening food security. We hope this collaboration will further promote sustainable sago downstreaming and inspire other regions in Indonesia to contribute to national food security,” said Elvyrisma Nainggolan, Chair of the Estate Crops Products Marketing Division, Directorate General of Estate Crops, Ministry of Agriculture of Indonesia.
The festival also promoted a variety of sago-based products, from the more traditional ones like papeda (sago-based congee) to value-added products like noodles, rice analogues, cakes, and even ice cream.
The latter were produced by women in the community after they participated in trainings on product diversification and marketing by FAO and local organization Analisis Papua Strategis – Center for Development and Global Studies (APS CDGS).
To further sustain sago downstreaming, knowledge exchange and market linkages have also been facilitated with universities, private actors, and local estate crops office.
Today’s festival is the second of its kind following the Sago Festival hosted by Masyarakat Adat Yoboi in May this year. In Yoboi, Masyarakat Adat have also owned a similar small-scale sago processing unit and received trainings on sustainable sago downstreaming and marketing.
FAO Representative in Indonesia and Timor-Leste Rajendra Aryal lauded that the festival was a celebration of how both innovations and traditions could go hand-in-hand. While the machines have expedited sago production, customary rules ensure long-term sustainability by requiring that only mature sago trees are harvested, a new tree is planted for each harvested tree, and that the machines are operated sustainably to avoid exploitation.
“Sago down-streaming innovations in Sentani offer Masyarakat Adat with new opportunities to leverage their production, nutrition, and livelihoods, without forgoing their traditional knowledge and values that have for long maintained Papua’s ecological balance. This model of a bottom-up approach in working with Masyarakat Adat can hopefully inspire other communities across Indonesia,” Rajendra said. (AT Network)
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