TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Homecoming is an annual tradition for most of people who had been settling far away from home. If you will pass Eastern Trans-Sumatran Highway on your way back to hometown, take a chance to stop by at Tebing Gerinting Village, Ogan Ilir, South Sumatra. In the village which is located 40 kilometers from Palembang city, most of the residents there make snacks for a living such as dodol (taffy-like sweets made of glutinous rice), kemplang, kerupuk (chips), and other Eid typical cookies.
In Tebing Gerinting, this blackish colored sweet traditional snacks are sold at Rp24,000 per package of 1 kilogram each. The dodol-making tradition in South Sumatra also exist in other places in the province besides Tebing Gerinting Village. But only in Tebing Gerinting, the buyers will be able to see how the snacks are being made.
You can witness housewives busy stirring ingredients in a large pot. Meanwhile, some men are busy peeling off coconuts’ skin and squeezing shredded coconuts to derive its milk. The dodol produced by Tebing Gerinting residents are marketed in Palembang, Prabumulih, Lampung, and Jakarta.
Amida, one of the dodol maker, said that her dodol are made from a recipe that has been inherited for generations. "Normally we can sell up to 300 kilograms dodol in various flavors during the homecoming season," said Amida last week. To make it more practical, the dodol are packaged with air-proof plastic bags.
Apriel, one of the homecomers who will celebrate Eid in Bandar Lampung, is one of Amida's loyal customer. She stopped by at Tebing Gerinting almost every year to taste the sweet yummy dodol. "The price is affordable, and they are thick, sticky, and not too sweet," Apriel explained.
Aside from dodol, the homecomers can also buy kemplang, chips, and traditional egg rolls in the village.
PARLIZA HENDRAWAN
