Today we took our first trip out to Java Bite's (the company run by REI in Indonesia) new facilities! They are located in Gadingkulon, which is about 20 minutes drive from the office in Malang. The picture below shows the 5 engineering interns standing in front of the facilities. The bigger facility up the hill (left in the picture) is for fruit dehydration, and the smaller facility down the hill (right in the picture) is for cold storage. The buildings are close to being completed, but there is still some construction happening. This post will be mostly pictures.
The bigger facility for fruit dehydration is for both production and training. Java Bite currently operates another production facility, but this new facility will be able to output significantly more product as well as train local workers about how to work in food production. The first picture below shows the front of the building where raw materials will be received. The second picture below shows the side of the building as well as the road on which trucks full of product will drive.
Since the dehydration facility has 2 stories, new workers will be able to watch production from the second floor while it's happening on the first floor. The picture below shows the view of the production facility from above. The sections are divided by glass for improved visibility.
The smaller facility is for cold storage. Java Bite does not currently operate a cold storage facility; this facility is intended to be a prototype so that more facilities like it can be created in places that are hard to reach spiritually and lacking jobs. The first picture below is looking down on the front of the facility. The second picture below is a floorplan for the facility. The large room on the right is for receiving whole mangos as well as for peeling and slicing; the room on the upper left is for flash freezing the mango slices; the room on the lower left is a walk-in freezer for long term cold storage.
This last picture is from the drive up to the facility. I took it from a video, so the quality and lighting are quite bad, but I think it accurately represents what the drive is like — all sorts of agriculture in the foreground with mountains in the background. And everything is so green. The Lord outdid Himself when He created some of the landscapes in Indonesia.
Be safe and have a wonderful time 💛
ReplyDeleteHey Royce! Hoping you're doing well and having a good time. It looks like you've had some amazing experiences so far! One question I had is regarding the mango peels. It seems like it is a form of waste in this system. Is there some way to utilize them to benefit the business? We're thinking of you here and are hoping you have a fulfilling and enriching time. We would love to hear your review of the impossibly hot noodles when you get the chance :). Take care
ReplyDeleteFunny you should mention that. The interns are collectively working on 3 projects, and the project I'm not working on is addressing just that issue. They are working on extracting refined pectin from the peels through a chemical process and then powdering the pectin. There are household processes using basic chemicals for obtaining pectin, but the issue is that it still has the flavor of whatever it came from; for example, pectin from mango peels would still taste like mango and could really only be used in a mango jam. So they are researching how to produce refined pectin that could be used in a wide variety of products from jam to cosmetics.
DeleteNoodle review hopefully coming soon.
Great to hear that the projects are moving forward.
ReplyDeleteLove all the pictures! Helps to give understanding for what you are doing. Would love to see those beautiful landscapes!
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