Dita Adi Saputra : From Salak Waste to Biofuel Energy

 Dita Adi Saputra

Through his project to produce biofuel from salak waste, social entrepreneur and chemistry scholar Dita Adi Saputra is working toward his goal of applying technology to benefit the community.

As a teenager, Dita became interested in chemistry. “When I was in high school, chemistry was my favorite subject. I found chemistry class interesting … and in this world, life is chemistry. Everything in life is related to it.”

When he received news he would be going to Yogyakarta to study chemistry at the prestigious Gajah Mada University, Dita was one step closer toward realizing his dream. “From a cultural and educational perspective, I think Yogyakarta is the most comfortable city. We can learn a great deal in Yogyakarta, whether its social studies or technological innovation; there is a lot …At the time I took the entrance exam for UGM, I didn’t think I’d get in. UGM has a good reputation as the oldest university in Indonesia, and the course I have chosen has an international reputation.

However, to apply his skills, Dita soon realized he would need to explore further, involving himself extensively in the chemistry student organization and several projects off campus. “My parents took me to Yogyakarta to help me get settled in. I started out thinking study was everything, but then I realized that study itself was not enough — that we need organizations to put our skills into practice.”

In October, 2009, Dita and several colleagues began working with farmers in the village of Turi in Sleman, Yogyakarta, as part of the Directorate General of Higher Education Student Creativity Program (PKM- DIKTI). Turi is the second-biggest salak producing area in Indonesia, and has a monthly harvest of around 24 tons of salak, up to 4 percent of which is wasted. Using waste from these plantations, Dita and his team found a way to produce salak-based ethanol that can be used as biofuel.

“This project will teach the community new skills and provide them with technology to manage salak waste. From here, the community can pass on these skills to other communities around it. In the long term we also plan to build a laboratory.”

 

Award : The Most Promissing Community Enterpreneur

Now, with support from Arthur Guinness Fund Community Entrepreneurs Challenge (AGF-CEC), Dita plans to work with an agritourism center in Turi to market the biofuel his project produces.

“We have already begun producing [biofuel] … In future we plan to work with a tourist village that is already promoting salak farming. This will help the tourist village promote itself as a place where farmers use technology to achieve self sufficiency.”

Dita said the competition had allowed him to meet other social entrepreneurs who were doing inspiring work.

 Presentation of Dita Adi Saputra