Savour the Queen of Fruits in its Heartland ~ Visiting Lombok Island

The delicate and delicious mangosteen, known as the Queen of Fruits, is an iconic product of West Lombok’s Narmada district where abundant water supplies and rich soils promote growth of high-quality tropical fruits.

Known as the City of Water, Narmada is popular for its hairy rambutan and its pungent durian as well as the exotic mangosteen – manggis in the Indonesian language.

About 15km from Mataram city, with high rainfall and ample natural water sources, Narmada has long been Lombok’s mainstay region of plantation agriculture, producing the bulk of the island’s crops. In fact anything planted by the citizens of the City of Water is sure to flourish.

At Sesaot village near Surandi Park, dozens of trucks are loaded daily with high-quality tropical fruits picked from locally-owned forests for transport within and outside Narmada.

Mangosteens grow on a long-life tropical tree (Garcinia mangostana L) which develops to between seven and 25 metres and is believed to have originated in Indonesia. The outside skin of the mangosteen generally is purplish-red when ripe. Under this exterior, a thick layer of white cushions the delicate fruit which is revealed as a white ball of tangy segments.

The fruit’s exquisite taste is often described as a cross between lychee and mango. Mangosteen juice has recently found wide international popularity for its health benefits.

West Lombok is one of West Nusa Tenggara’s (NTB’s) regencies with potential for major development of mangosteen orchards, especially in the Narmada and Lingsar districts. Of the regency’s 250 hectares of land available for mangosteen plantations, 100 hectares are already planted with around 11,600 trees. Of those, more than 7920 trees are producing and average of 579 quintals (57,900kg) of fruit a year.

Narmada communities have cultivated mangosteen for commercial cropping for decades. Orchards are numerous in the Keru, Batu Mekar, Tanak Tepong and Sesaot districts. Plantations also are found in Lingsar villages such as Duman and Peteluan Indah.

Villagers wait patiently to harvest their decades-old trees – only once a year around November or December. Top price for the best-quality mangosteen is Rp20,000 a kilogram.

“Although it is expensive, the mangosteen is highly sought-after,” said Sahni, 35, a merchant at the Narmada fruit market who often sells to people planning to take their fruit back to their homes on Sumbawa island.

Historically, the Narmada and Lingsar mangosteen growers planted only two or three trees in their gardens to meet the needs of their families. Mass plantings and a professional approach developed after the fruit gained popularity and a reputation as an iconic regional product.

Local government was quick to guide growth of the industry which today has made Narmada famous for the distinctive flavour of its Queen of Fruits which is enhanced by rich soils and an ideal climate.

“We have a nice mangosteen garden in which one tree can produce around 100 kilograms of fruit at harvest time,” said Sadhan, 45, of Peteluan Indah in Lingsar. At harvest time, many contractors go directly to Sadhan’s home where he enjoys accepting the best price on offer.

Narmada mangosteen is exported to markets including Korea, China and Japan. However, because the fruit is exported through Bali, it may not be identified at its destination as mangosteen from Narmada.

According to Sadhan, contractors from Bali have admitted that the products of Narmada farmers may be labeled for export as fruit from Bali.

In response to the fruit’s reputation as a regional icon, the West Lombok administration has introduced mangosteen cultivation into the curriculum of Narmada and Lingsar schools. Students receive a basic education on the opportunities and challenges of mangosteen cultivation.

“In all schools we have started to give courses about Narmada mangosteen,” said district education officer M Mustafa. “We are trying to pass on a similar concept to schools outside of Narmada and Lingsar where there are excellent varieties of other fruits.”

So, don’t miss your opportunity to savour this Queen of Fruits in the heart of its perfect production area – Narmada.

source:enchanting-lomboksumbawa.com