Wahyu  

I Made Gede Wahyudi Antara (Wahyu)

General Manager, UD Restu Bali, Tabanan, Bali

Wahyu grew up in Bali with many coconut trees around him, he has a deep respect for the coconut tree and it’s myriad of uses within Balinese ceremony, food culture and traditions. The Balinese people also call the coconut the “Tree of Life” and no part of the coconut or tree is wasted. Wahyu believes it is important to innovate to maximize the usage of coconut as a source of both food, healthcare and sustainable products.

Wahyu and his team produce value-added products from coconut such as virgin coconut oil (VCO) using the patented DME, Direct Micro Expelling system. The Bali micro factory also produces coconut cooking oil, coconut shell charcoal and food products from the coconut press-cake. Wahyu has recently expanded his product range by introducing candlenut oil and moringa oil. As a regional showcase for coconut micro-factory the operation at Tabanan has been visited by many interested parties from government and private sectors from around Indonesia, and their positive experience has led to several other coconut micro factories being established over the past few years.

Wahyu hopes to expand further through creating more products, providing more job vacancies and helping more people in his community. The business especially focuses on women empowerment, so they can support their family by offering up opportunities in a safe, caring work environment.

By contributing his experience and passion to the Coconut Knowledge Center mission, Wahyu is proud to share his learned knowledge, to improve the economic opportunity for small holder farmers and to help incentivise the replanting of coconut trees.