From Essential Oil, This Man from Trenggalek Supports His Family's Life and Opens Job Opportunities for Others

Kapanlagi.com - Essential oil, also known as essential oil, is an aromatic compound produced from the extraction process of several parts of plants. Although not many people know, this oil itself actually has many uses in various industries. Among them are raw materials in the manufacture of cosmetics, perfumes, antiseptics, and medicines.

It can be said that the business opportunities for this essential oil are quite good. In fact, the products produced from this essential oil also have the potential to be exported abroad. Well, seeing the existing opportunities, a man from Watulimo Village, Trenggalek, East Java, tried to take the initiative to open his own business and become a producer of essential oil in his hometown.

The man named Sutoyo is still active in running his business, which has been around for more than 30 years. In the course of his business journey, he has also created job opportunities for others in need. Let's take a look at his inspirational story in weaving hope from producing essential oil.

1. Pioneering Business Since 1990

Credit: Special

This natural ingredient processing business into oil has been established by Sutoyo since 1990. In the beginning, he was only experimenting to utilize clove plants and turn them into oil. However, over time, the raw materials for making essential oils increased and varied.

"In 1990, we started pioneering clove oil. So this initiative has been running for approximately 33 years," said Sutoyo.

"Initially, we just followed other oil craftsmen. But from there, we learned how to process raw materials into essential oils. The first initiative, we made clove oil. Then when clove oil was running and developing, we started using other materials. For example, like patchouli oil, sriwangi oil, betel oil, and even citrus leaf oil," he continued.

In pioneering his business, Sutoyo also shared that he had difficulties at the beginning. Because at that time, he still had other jobs outside of managing the essential oil processing place. However, Sutoyo finally decided to focus on developing this oil business so that the results could be more optimal.

"In the past, we only made oil using small tanks for experiments. After getting income and being able to carry out the production process, we started trying to use larger tanks," said Sutoyo.

2. Continuously Growing and Becoming as Big as Now

Credit: Special

He admitted that the development for the production of natural oil has been going quite well, and now there are already 6 large tanks that can be used. The current production includes cloves, patchouli, and nutmeg. Additionally, there is now also an additional raw material for oil production from cardamom stalks.

“The cardamom stalks that we use are actually waste that is no longer used. So we buy the raw material from farmers because it is more affordable compared to the cardamom fruit. From there, we try and test whether the raw material from the cardamom stalks can be an additional production or not,” he said.

Sutoyo also shared that his struggle to obtain perfect essential oil was not easy and there were many shortcomings that had to be overcome.

“At the beginning, it was impossible to obtain perfect oil. There must be something lacking here and there. But we learn again and find ways to overcome these shortcomings. We first find out whether it is because of the small distillation equipment or the insufficient pressure. We continue to search for solutions so that the oil produced can reach its maximum quantity,” he explained.

From all the experiments conducted by Sutoyo, a breakthrough was finally found to obtain maximum quality essential oil that meets export requirements.

3. Opening New Job Opportunities for Others

Credit: Special

Besides being able to meet the needs of his family, Sutoyo also mentioned that this essential oil business has become a place of work for several people. Even until now, he has successfully employed as many as 15 people from different backgrounds.

“At that time, we could only produce once in a duration of one day and one night. Because at that time I still didn't have any employees and I was the only one doing the work. But because over time I couldn't handle the workload anymore, I invited my friends to join the production. I taught them how to make or process the oil themselves,” he said.

In his journey of processing natural ingredients into oil, Sutoyo felt that the benefits and profits he obtained were getting bigger. In fact, the source of raw materials for the production of essential oil in his place can reach outside the city.

“I have many raw material collectors for the oil. These collectors will wait at the raw material location, and then they will be picked up using a pick-up truck. After that, the raw materials brought to the processing site will be processed into oil," he said.

On the other hand, Sutoyo also mentioned that he will transfer his business to his child in the future. However, he will continue to provide supervision and guidance to his child so that the business can run properly.

As a conclusion, Sutoyo conveyed that this essential oil is one of the businesses that can be done in the long term. Especially due to the high interest of the local community and abroad, as well as its usefulness in various fields.

(kpl/glo)