Essential Oils from Desa Sejahtera Astra in Kendal Eyes the Export Market

Essential Oils from Desa Sejahtera Astra in Kendal Eyes the Export Market

Kendal: Through the Desa Sejahtera Astra (DSA) in Kendal District, Central Java, Astra has been able to help locals thrive by producing essential oils for the export market.

Since establishing Kendal as a DSA site in July 2019, Astra has been gradually motivating the people to produce essential oils from citronella grass and clove leaves by providing training and mentoring programs.

Essential oils are produced from various parts of a plant, including its roots, epidermis, stems, leaves, flowers, and seeds. Indonesian essential oils are produced from around 160 to 200 aromatic plants available locally.

In Kendal, the raw materials for essential oils were initially supplied by just 200 farmers in 10 villages in the district. Today, 3,000 locals plant citronella grass and collect clove leaves. From 10 tons of essential oils per month, Kendal now has a throughput of 20 tons per month.

“Astra’s efforts to develop Desa Sejahtera Astra are expected to improve the welfare of the people. This echoes Astra’s mission of prosper with the nation,” said Chief of Corporate Affairs Astra Pongki Pamungkas.

To accelerate the potentials of DSA Kendal, on Wednesday (4/12) Astra handed over 10 oil distillation machines and a warehouse facility to support production as well as a training session. The training featured an essential oils company CV Nares Essential Oils and taught the participants, the residents of DSA Kendal, to effectively process clove leaves and citronella grass.

The handover ceremony was attended by 150 essential oils producers in DSA Kendal, the Director of Local Economy Development under the Directorate General of the Development of Disadvantaged Regions Bahartani Lamakampali, Head of the Development and Optimization of the Supporting Facilities of Economic Zones under the Indonesian Coordinating Ministry of Economic Affairs Agus Wahyudi, Kendal Head of District Mirna Annisa, and Deputy Head of Environment and Social Responsibility Astra Diah Suran Febrianti.

During the occasion, Astra and CV Nares Essential Oils also signed an agreement to channel potential products of DSA Kendal to the export market.

For further information, please contact:

Boy Kelana Soebroto

Head of Corporate Communications

PT Astra International Tbk

Ph. 021-508-43-888

About Astra:

PT Astra International Tbk was established in 1957 in Jakarta as a general trading company under the name Astra International Inc. In 1990, for the purpose of the company’s initial public offering (IPO), the name of the company changed to PT Astra International Tbk, followed by listing its shares on the Indonesia Stock Exchange under the ticker code ASII.

Astra has developed its business by implementing a business model based on synergies and diversification within seven business segments, consisting of: 1) Automotive, 2) Financial Services, 3) Heavy Equipment, Mining, Construction & Energy, 4) Agribusiness, 5) Infrastructure and Logistics, 6) Information Technology and 7) Property.

Astra conducts business operations in all parts of Indonesia under the management of more than 234 subsidiaries, joint ventures and associates companies, and was supported by more than 226,504 employees, as of September 2019

As one of the largest national business groups today, Astra has built a strong reputation through offering a range of quality products and services, taking into account the implementation of good corporate governance and environmental governance. Astra always aspires to be the pride of the nation that participates in efforts to improve the welfare of the Indonesian people.

Therefore, Astra's business activities strive to apply a balanced mix in the commercial aspects of business and non-business contributions through 9 foundations and a variety of sustainable social responsibility programmes Astra Untuk Indonesia Sehat, Astra Untuk Indonesia Cerdas, Astra Untuk Indonesia Hijau and Astra Untuk Indonesia Kreatif.

Astra initiated the Semangat Astra Terpadu Untuk (SATU) Indonesia Awards programme, which has entered a decade this year, and has given recognition awards to 305 young Indonesians, consisting of 59 national level recipients and 246 provincial level recipients in the fields of Health, Education, the Environment, Entrepreneurship and Technology, which are integrated with Astra’s wide range of community activities through 87 Kampung Berseri Astra and 645 Desa Sejahtera Astra initiated in 34 provinces throughout Indonesia.

For further information, please visit www.astra.co.id & www.satu-indonesia.com, and follow Astra through Instagram (@SATU_Indonesia), Youtube (SATU Indonesia), Facebook (Semangat Astra Terpadu) and Twitter (@SATU_Indonesia).