Garuda Indonesia Colours Magazine February 2018 | Page 96

94
Travel | Baubau
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5 Senses – Touch
PALABUSA PEARLS
La Izu of Palabusa cultivates
shells which produce pearls.
Pearls of Palabusa.
Seeing the shells I begin to imagine that, as a destination,
Baubau is like a pearl in its shell blanket, waiting to be found.
It won’t be long now.
I continue on to visit the Pasarwajo and
Palabusa areas. All along the way, the asphalt
road surface is smooth, even into the villages
far from the main road. In the centre of
Pasarwajo, hot-mix asphalt covers the road,
which is as wide as a futsal pitch. In Palabusa,
right up to the edge of the village beside the
beach, the quality of the roads is better than
in rural areas of Java. This is because Buton
is a producer of asphalt.
Palabusa is a small village that farms mabe
pearls. Its calm and protected sea makes it an
ideal location for the cultivation of pearls.
Away from the beach, the pearl farmers float
rafts to hang their shells. I approached a raft
belonging to La Izu, whilst travelling on
a small wooden boat.
Here, La Izu was the first person to develop
small-scale pearl-shell farming, an industry
that has been taken up by his partners from
the village. He greets me with a smile and
invites me to watch him work, for which
he uses simple tools. La Izu is busy tying
string to the lips of shells that have been
fitted with a nucleus. He is preparing
2,000 shells for this planting season.
Afterwards the shells will be put into
wire baskets that are hung underwater.
“In four months’ time I will harvest
them,” he explains.
Seeing the shells I begin to imagine that,
as a destination, Baubau is like a pearl in
its shell blanket, waiting to be found.
It won’t be long now.
About an hour’s journey to the
north of Baubau city centre is the
village of Palabusa, where part of the
community’s livelihood is pearl
cultivation. The sea here is calm and
protected, allowing the area to be
developed for pearl production since
1969. Pearls that have been harvested
and separated from their shells are
usually sent straight out of the area.
However, local residents have recently
launched an initiative to retain some
of the pearls and shells for use
in local handicrafts.
Sekitar satu jam berkendara ke arah
utara dari pusat Kota Baubau, terdapat
Desa Palabusa yang sebagian
masyarakatnya hidup dari budidaya
mutiara. Kondisi pantainya yang
tenang dan terlindungi menjadikan
wilayah ini dikembangkan sebagai
penghasil mutiara sejak tahun 1969.
Mutiara yang sudah dipanen dan
dipisahkan dari cangkang biasanya
langsung dikirimkan ke luar kota,
namun baru-baru ini muncul inisiatif
dari warga setempat untuk mengolah
mutiara dan cangkang kerang sebagai
kerajinan tangan.