There are a number of tricks for kratom farmers in Kapuas Hulu district to simplify the process of harvesting kratom leaves in the garden. Basically, kratom is a plant that can grow to tens of meters in height, it is enough to imagine how difficult it is for farmers to harvest kratom leaves in plantation areas. Here are some of the special techniques that some farmers use to harvest kratom:
1. Use a stick
In trees that are 2 years to 4 years old, kratom farmers usually use wood with a crescent-shaped tip that is used to attach the kratom tree trunk to the bottom, then stick it into the end of the ground wood. This is done with the aim of facilitating the process of harvesting kratom leaves, because when the tree is 2 years old it cannot be climbed, the trunk is still soft and prone to breaking when climbing.
2. Climb a tree
As we all know, the kratom tree has at least grown on the Asian continent since hundreds of years ago, before kratom was much appreciated by consumers, this plant has grown wild in the land of Kapuas Hulu, West Kalimantan.
Therefore, open a number of trees that have reached tens of meters high, the kratom farmers harvest them using climbing techniques, this tree is relatively very strong when it is aged, but of course, farmers must be extra careful during the harvesting process because the trees that are already old, that means there is a possibility that the tree is rotten due to age.
3. Cutting tree trunks
Especially for kratom plants that are planted and cared for from seeds, plants that have been cared for since childhood have even entered the age of harvest. If the trees are more than 3 years old, farmers in Kapuas Hulu District will cut the tree trunks until they are only half a meter above the ground. The kratom tree that has been felled is actually not meant to be killed, but to facilitate the harvesting process, as well as its function so that one day the tree can produce many new branches which will later produce large amounts of kratom leaves.
All of the methods used above are still traditional, the kratom farmers in Kapuas Hulu strongly adhere to the culture that has been passed on by their ancestors, yes, as we all know, that Indonesia is a country that really appreciates their history and culture.
