The Trademark Sigapiton

The Trademark “Sigapiton”

Just a Ferry Tale or a real story?

The village Sigapiton is located in a bay of Lake Toba, the biggest volcanic lake of the world. Until 2014 the village was only accessible from the lake.

Out of this the people of the village have to live close together for centuries. They have a strong community.

Then in 2016 the Indonesian Government develop on the hills behind the village 500 m up a 5 Star resort for a light tower project for an Eco Tourism. For the villagers it is difficult to imagine, what will happen, if the mass tourism will overcome their village. Like Mc Donalds or Starbucks want to open a store at the beach. The Village only has 300 inhabitants.

The village is unique. The view to lake Toba and all the rice fields and the natural and also from the villagers cultured forest of different kind of fruit trees is incredibly beautiful.

Now out of the ideas from the Eco village Silimalombu, the Lake Toba Authority and the villagers came out the idea:

We create our village to a Zero-Waste Zone. We will be a 100 % clean village. We already have one of the cleanest waters of Indonesia. From all our taps in all houses you can drink the water directly from the tab. Where else in Indonesia you can do it?  The AEK Sigapiton water doesn’t need to filtered or processed. Just it is getting filled directly from the spring. It is perfect clear and fully out of smell or chemicals they don’t have to be in a drinking water. Up of the village is the nature and the sky. Until now there cannot be any pollution from up. Also, the Caldera Resort up has to take 100 % care, that they don’t pollute our water. We will help the Caldera with this, when we can and we will control it. For this our water will be a little bit more expensive than the high branded water from the foreign companies. If they sell a gallon for 25.000 then we will take just 30.

We give our village also for the tourists. For this we want participate with all our power we have. And we want to have an exchange for this, that we can get a prosperous village and can give our children the best future. We like, that our grandchildren still have the nature and that they can still drink our water in the same quality then we.

We want to share our water with all the people, they come to our village. Everywhere you can drink our water for free. At the harbor and at other places in the village we will make fountains, where you can refill your bottle. For this in Sigapiton you cannot buy a bottled water. You can buy at our place nice “AEK Sigapiton” bottles, which you can use for the rest of your life. Everywhere you can refill it. Also, we want to sell the water in Gallons to all around Lake Toba with our boats, which are transporting stones in the moment and then in the surrounding and even and to Medan. For more Information about the “AEK-Sigapiton you can follow the link.

 

This money of the water will be the foundation or aour Sigapiton Cooperative. In the Cooperative of Sigapiton are clever people from the village and they will get the support of the Ecovillage Silimalombu ant the Lake Toba Authority.

The cooperative will be open for all of the villagers of Sigapiton, they want to enter the Cooperative. There will be a down payment from each member for the start. This can be paid directly or even with products; they are getting sold in the following 2 years. (It is accounted for this 50 % of the selling price).

The cleaning up of the village

 

The village still have the Indonesian way of going around with the waste. Everywhere the waste lys around and just the waste is getting thrown on the street. This has to get stopped with Business Model for all of the waste.

All the village will clean up the village at one day in December 2021 and directly all the waste is getting sorted:

  • In plastic which all can be sold in the moment between 1000 and 2000 Rp. Per Kilo. One person can collect a day maybe around 100 kg
  • All the cartons also can be sold for the same price
  • The metals also can be sold for a price between 1000 and 5000 and even more.
  • The old batteries can be sold and also the glass.

All of the waste is getting transported to Adjbata with a boat and then with trucks to Siantar. All the people know now, that they can sell the waste and will collect it. All the children of all the schools will be involved and this money will be the money of the children. Also, they can give part of this money to the cooperative to get themselves members of the cooperative. They also can start as children to start their own business inside of the Cooperative as far this is possible with the Indonesian laws.

Waste water treatment

Oil Absorber

Each kitchen sink in the village gets an oil absorber. This will just be a PE-drum with a pipe in and a pipe out. This maybe can be sponsored from the Lake Toba Authority. A group of village women already learned how to recycle this oil to detergent and sunlight. It is getting mixed with Kalium hydroxide to get soapy and with is self-produced in an organic way and getting colored by homemade Indigo and enriched with cold pressed Candle Nut Oil for remoistening the hands. When sunlight is getting sold for 26.000 per kilo, then this sustainable product is getting sold for just 29.000 Rp. For the members of the Cooperative for 50 % of the price, like all the Cooperative will produce.

The women of the Village will collect in a regular period all the old oil and will fully process it in a way of 100 % Zero Waste strategy. The heat to process it will come from the sun. It is getting filled in reused Water bottles, the customer brings to the village.

The women of Sigapiton use also instead of the cheap Natrium hydroxide the more then double expensive Kalium Hydroxide. This is very important mineral for plants and for animals.

For this the waste water is perfect for irrigation and for fertilizing. For this there is getting built a pipe system, which brings all the time the waste water to the plants. In a dry season it doesn’t needs specially watering anymore and the plants will not dry of. Also, a soap based on kalium is better for the skin.

Out of this, it getting forbidden to use other chemicals in the kitchen sink. And the women went on. They also made then a Hair and Body Shampoo based on Candle nut oil. The Candle nut oil, they also produce themselves. Some of them have own Candle nut trees and they only can sell the whole nuts for 9.000 Rp per kilo. Therefore, they got the idea, to buy a small Candle nut oil pressing machine, like they have in the Ecovillage Silimalombu. For the beginning they could borrow the machine from there. But it would much better to have an own machine in Silimalombu.

Out of this this was getting a theme in a meeting of the Cooperative Sigapiton. It would be nice to have an own oil press in the village. Then everybody can go there to press the oil there or later, when there is a lot, it is getting pressed there.

They developed then different soaps and Shampoo, all processed also with Kalium Hydroxide. And then it was forbidden to use other chemicals then hundred percent plant based for Body Cleaning. And everybody also wants to use also this for his own body. The tourists they get also this in the dispenser at the bathroom and of course, they can buy this. A 100 ml bottle of the shower gel for example is getting sold for ……..

 

………the story will go on….