On the island of Sumatra, sugar is prepared with an interesting technique: teams of up to ten people grind the cane with a coconut tree trunk.

Communities in Pulau Belimbing Village, Kuok Sub-District, Kampar District, Riau Province, Indonesia, still retain the custom of making sweets or sugar from traditional tools, a practice known locally as manggelek tobu, as seen in this video filmed on March 27.

As a result of the limitations of the technology at the time these sweets, as a substitute for sugar, were used as daily necessities.

The technique is carried out with two teams standing face-to-face lifting the trunk, which is used to grind the cane by pushing and pulling it over the cane.

There is also a jackfruit tree that serves as a buffer, while the bamboo tree is used to lay the sugar cane which is ready to be ground.

Making Sugar From Traditional Tools, Coconut Trees Are Used As Grinders

Communities in Pulau Belimbing Village, Kuok Sub-District, Kampar District, Riau Province, Indonesia, still retain the custom of making sweets or sugar from traditional tools. The grinder is from coconut trees, while the raw material is sugar cane.

The process of making sweets or sugar, called manggelek tobu. Manggelek tobu, is one of the traditional tools used by the people of the past to make sweets. Because of the limitations of the technology at the time, these sweets, as a substitute for sugar, were used as daily necessities.

This tobu manggelek, carried out together by standing face to face, then the tools used to grind it, are pushed and pulled according to the position of each.

The equipment used for manggelek tobu consists of coconut trees which function as a grinding tool. In addition, there is also a jackfruit tree that serves as a buffer. While the bamboo tree is used to lay the sugar cane which is ready to be ground

While the grinding process is taking place, the women prepare a variety of traditional foods. This traditional food processing, carried out together. These traditional foods, served for workers after making sweets or sugar.