Thousands Of Tons Of Bats In Matu Pesisir Barat Caves As Pupuk

Pupuk Guano (ANTARA)

JAKARTA - The Matu Cave tourist attraction in Pekon (Village) Way Sindi, Karya Punggawa District, West Coast Regency, Lampung has its own blessings for the surrounding community, behind its beauty and mystical stories, can take advantage of the guano fertilizer from the bats in it.

Inside the Matu Cave, there is organic fertilizer from bat manure that has occupied the cave since hundreds of years ago. Pupuk dari impur bat is commonly called guano fertilizer. Local residents have been taking the fertilizer for decades.

One of the residents who took guano fertilizer from Matu Cave, Subing, said that he had been taking organic fertilizers from Matu Caves for generations.

"Yes, it has been hereditary, usually we take fertilizers here almost every day and it doesn't stop," Subing said during an interview, Sunday, January 22.

He also stated that the surrounding community used the bat's waste for fertilizer, and it had been going on for a long time.

"If the knowledge of taking fertilizer in Matu Cave was from our ancestors first," he said as quoted by ANTARA.

According to him, the fertilizer from bat droppings has many benefits for plants.

"This guano fertilizer has many benefits and is good for any plant," he also said.

This guano fertilizer is able to fertilize clove plants, pepper, coffee, and other vegetables.

"If the original fertilizer from Matu Cave is different from the ordinary manure, because if it is used for plants the results are immediately visible, the plants will be more fertile," he said.

He said he depends on his daily life from the wages of taking the guano fertilizer.

"Yes sir, it has become a daily job to take the fertilizer," he also said.

However, one of the caretakers of Matu Cave, Makmur explained, the surrounding community is prohibited from selling the guano fertilizer taken from the Goa Matu. But they are allowed to receive compensation from the work of taking the guano fertilizer which is commonly called wages.

"If it is sold, it is not allowed, we are not allowed to use the term sell, but it must be replaced with a wage because it is bat waste," he also said.

Saipul, one of the papaya farmers, said he had been using organic fertilizer from this bat waste for the past few years. "I've been using guano fertilizer for a few years," said Saipul.

Pupuk kompuk bat dari Goa Matu ini manfaatnya langsung membuat tanaman terlihat subur. "Pupuk guano ini pertama kali saya pakai langsung tampak hasilnya dan membuat tanaman saya berkur," katanya lagi.