27 October 2024
Obi Island welcomed a new day and a new friend from Tidore. Her name is Anita Gathmir, a talented woman and the founder of Puta Dino Kayangan, a SME business focused on the preservation and development of traditional Tidore weaving.
The arrival of Anita Gathmir and her team aimed to share a wealth of knowledge and experience on innovation in MSME (Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises) development with Harita employees and housewives in Kawasi Village, Obi Island. On this occasion, this woman of Tidore Sultanate descent—bearing the Kaicil surname—also introduced traditional weaving crafts, a heritage of her ancestors, which she revived after it had been lost for a century.
“My first impression of this place is incredible. I was amazed by Harita Nickel’s efforts to empower the surrounding community, one of which is through SME,” she said, adding that it was her first time visiting Obi Island and being able to see the mining operational area.
The concrete efforts to empower the people of Obi Island, particularly in Kawasi, are demonstrated through the products of the Obi Jaya Mandiri SME, nurtured by Harita Nickel. SME Supervisor Harita Nickel, Windi Ashari, explained that various snack products from these SME include a range of options.
“We call it Obi Snack, consisting of various brands like Horiwo Tuna Crackers and Horiwo Roa Sambal,” she explained while offering these products to Anita Gathmir to try.
So far, there are seven business units under the Obi Jaya Mandiri SME, including Obi Snack for snack foods, Hop Mart as a mini-market, Nyala Cafe and Prosa Cafe in the food and beverages sector, Promama producing products from virgin coconut oil (VCO) and coconut oil, Rute Kawasi processing tempeh, and Rute Soligi producing tofu. With these seven business units, the total revenue generated reaches 700 million rupiah per month. This proves that the benefits of Harita Nickel’s Community Development and Empowerment (PPM) program can be directly felt by the local residents.
During her visit with the extraordinary women in Kawasi Village, Anita Gathmir, as the founder of Puta Dino Kayangan, did not forget to showcase her world-renowned woven products and briefly demonstrate how to weave the traditional Tidore textiles. Her success in preserving the distinctive Tidore weaving is attributed to her continuous efforts to innovate in product development.
“Product innovation can come from the way we package the products we make or even change the shape of our products to have certain characteristics. The women of Kawasi need to do this, so that their products have a distinctive identity that represents Obi Island,” she explained.
This message inspired the women in Kawasi Village to be more confident and to innovate in the future. “Thank you, Ms. Anita, for your presence and for providing motivation and sharing experiences to improve the Harita Nickel SME in the future. We are very happy!” said Windi, who mentors the women of the Obi Jaya Mandiri SME.
After meeting with the women in Kawasi, Anita Gathmir also visited some PPM initiatives undertaken by Harita Nickel, namely the Greenhouse and the New Settlement Area in Kawasi Village.
Corporate Social Responsibility Supervisor Harita Nickel, Albertus Darukumar, explained that the Greenhouse owned by Harita Nickel in the Salam Kawasi area develops various products such as melons and golden melons.
“So far, we have developed two varieties, specifically for the regular melon, which has been fully absorbed by the company. For the golden melon, the market is more niche and premium because its taste is much better, even though its price is slightly higher. Many people have become addicted to our golden melon,” he concluded confidently, which was met with laughter from the entire Puta Dino Kayangan team.
While trying the melons and golden melons produced, Anita Gathmir and her team from Puta Dino Kayangan expressed their appreciation for the efforts made. “I really didn’t expect the efforts that Harita Nickel is putting into supporting and caring for the environment and its communities to be so commendable,” she said.
After visiting the Greenhouse in the Salam Kawasi area, the next location visited was the New Settlement Area in Kawasi Village. This settlement area is gradually being inhabited by residents from the Old Kawasi Village. There are a total of 259 houses, which will increase, along with facilities such as a mosque, church, office, clinic, and educational facilities.
“Again, this is the first time I’ve seen a company that goes out of its way to build residential homes for the local population,” said Anita while observing the New Settlement Area in Kawasi Village.
The visit to CSR projects by Harita Nickel, concluded with enjoying traditional Obi fried bananas while drinking pure coconut water. It was a sweet ending to Anita Gathmir's first visit with the Puta Dino Kayangan team to the site. Anita’s initial perception of the mining area changed dramatically after seeing what Harita Nickel is doing, as this is what the mining industry should do: continuously preserve and empower the land and the people working within it
Go Top