REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, LABUAN BAJO -- Wearing a songke, traditional Manggarai weaving, Adrianus Taur (42) offered a glass of herbal drink to every guest who visited his home in Kampung Kaper, Golo Bilas Village, Komodo District, West Manggarai Regency, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT).

“Please drink Ite (Manggarai language meaning you),” said Ardi (the familiar greeting of Adrianus Taur), offering a drink to ANTARA at his residence.

Ardi is a contract teacher who has served approximately 15 years in Manggarai, as well as an MSME operator in Labuan Bajo who develops excellent herbal drink products from family medicinal plants (toga), such as red ginger, caraway, turmeric, cinnamon, palm sugar, pandan leaves, and lemongrass leaves, into ready-to-eat flour or powder without preservatives.

Initially, the herbal drink was produced by his wife Emerlinda Flaviana Haya for domestic needs, after seeing President Joko Widodo leak the recipes of herbs he used to drink, namely red ginger, cumin, lemongrass, turmeric, all of which were mixed into one during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

The herbal drink is able to increase stamina and immunity, even as many as seven of Adrianus Taur's colleagues who were exposed to COVID-19 in 2020 were declared cured after two days of regularly drinking the spice potion.

Armed with experience, the man who serves as Vice Principal of SMKN 3 Komodo Curriculum School sees a business opportunity, especially in Labuan Bajo City, which is known as a super priority tourism destination (DPSP) that has great potential for the development of MSMEs.

For Ardi, developing the herbal beverage business is not just raking in rupiah coffers, but there is a humanitarian mission that he runs, which is to nourish people through herbal drinks and continue to preserve the wealth of the earth in Labuan Bajo, Flores through safe, quality, and sustainable products and to help local farmers.

Despite this, the venture of the father of three children did not go smoothly at first, he started a venture with a capital of IDR 250 thousand to buy raw materials in the traditional market, then processed into powder.

He wrapped several kilograms of the powdered product in plastic, then began offering it to family, colleagues and neighbors from house to house and marketing the product through social media platforms.

Ardi described the subtle rejections she often received when offering her products, but she answered the rejection by asking her potential customers to try the herbal product. From trying it he gets feedback on the benefits felt by those consuming.

He sees all those challenges as opportunities for success. Through hard work, many customer testimonials and product information through mass media and social media, slowly the herbal product began to be accepted by the public.

Slowly but surely, Ardi's efforts continue to grow, for him everyone is a teacher and nature is a school. Since 2021, she regularly discusses and shares experiences with fellow MSMEs, then attends various trainings and educations for MSMEs organized by the central government through the Ministry of Communication and Informatics (Kominfo), Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy (Kemenparekraf), Ministry of Cooperatives and SMEs, Bank Indonesia and West Manggarai Regency Government.

Thanks to perseverance, patience, commitment and consistency to improve product quality, Ardi has today built storage warehouses, sales galleries and production kitchens. He is assisted in the stewardship of business licenses by the government and has obtained Intellectual Property Rights (HAKI) certificates and halal certificates. It is currently awaiting certification by the Food and Drug Administration (BPOM).

For Ardi the effort must have an impact for others. Therefore, at this time he also recruited three workers from the surrounding residents and made his place of business a container for SMK level students to carry out field work practice (PKL) for the past two years.

As time went on, Ardi's herbal drink products became increasingly known in Labuan Bajo. He later participated in many exhibitions and festivals in Labuan Bajo, and even qualified as an MSME participant in various national and international activities, such as the IFG Labuan Bajo Marathon and the ASEAN High Level Conference (Summit) 2023.

Through social media, marketplaces and mass media reports, Ardi herbal drink products have penetrated national markets, such as Jakarta, Surabaya, Papua, Kalimantan, Sulawesi and Bali. Today, Ardi has 86 resellers across Indonesia. In one month Adrianus can produce about 144 kilograms of herbal drink powder to serve his entire customers.

This English teacher has also prepared documents and various other requirements as he glimpses the potential of international markets for the sale of his products. In early September 2024, international flights have been opened at Komodo Airport on the Kuala Lumpur-Labuan Bajo route, so Ardi's herbal drink products can become one of the typical souvenirs of Labuan Bajo for foreign tourists.

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