Vivi happens to be one of the most inspiring women I have met; always compassionate, sharing and giving back to her community. I met Vivira Mufrida in 2013 when I had just moved to Lombok. Since then, she’s a very dear friend. She has a passion for mother nature and growing vegetables as well as healing herbs. A person full of warmth and wisdom, Vivi also happens to be a succesful enterpreneur.
At Coco Beach you will find vast greenery with coconut trees, colorful flowers and tropical gazebos perfect for chillaxing. On the menu they serve a fine selection of traditional Indonesian cuisine with Vivi’s personal twist along with amazingly tasty healing beverages such as bandrek, temulawak and moringa smoothie. In Vivi’s kitchen at Coco Beach there’s no packs of MSG, powdered chicken stock or commercial tomato ketchup. Everything is made from scratch in the kitchen from fresh ingredients.
As Turkey’s only magazine in Indonesian language, Dalya News talked to Vivira about her success story behind her establishment Coco Beach Waroeng, a lovely beachfront food-garden just off Jl. Raya Senggigi on the west coast of Lombok, Indonesia.
1. Dear Vivi, please tell us about your story as a female entrepreneur in Lombok.
In fact, I prefer to be known as an ordinary woman who wants to help the community in the village where I live. I have an interest in native plants that can be consumed as medicinal food for when someone is sick.
Many years ago, as a PKK (administrator of women's organization in the village) I managed to get a loan to start a TOGA (family medicinal plant) garden by the beach. This is where we had a community to grow vegetables and herbs. Friends who were interested in these practices soon started visiting with a variety of purposes.
There are those who are interested in increasing their knowledge, collectors of medicinal plants and some who just want to picnic on the beach while cooking vegetables from the garden and the fish they buy from fishermen, etc.
Because they knew that I don't have financial assistance from anyone at that time, visitors gave me the idea to create a simple restaurant by serving local cuisine from the garden.
This was the basis for me to start becoming an enterpreneur.
2. You have interest and practices in organic products. Why is that?
It’s not that I only have an interest in organic produce but more than that. Because the product is already in our garden in the area where I also started to run as a beach restaurant. In this area there are a lot of coconut trees and it’s located on the beach so I called it "Coco Beach Waroeng".
Our motto is: Organic Place Organic Food.
This venue started with a very simple arrangement, the floor was sand, so I placed with Thai style mats and pillows (which I made myself) for home-style comfort.
I never dreamed at that time that this place would become a pioneer for other simple warung stalls that eventually grew like mushrooms along the beach.
3. At Coco Beach, you serve healing food and drinks. Can you give us some examples?
At the Coco Beach we serve several local vegetable dishes such as 'Curry of cassava leaves' or tapioca leaves curry, Moringa soup and some dishes from eggplants all sourced from the garden.
For our drinks there are some traditional healthy drinks namely 'herbal medicine' made from a mixture of spices such as' Temulawak, Bandrek, Javanese Chili, Turmeric Jamu and several other healthy juices one of which is made from Moringa leaves as well as Alang Alang roots.
Some comments I received state that I serve drinks that can cure. This is not so much the case.
I only mix drinks according to ancestral recipes that can help restore balance to the body so that it can increase the body's immunity again.
The one who treats it is not the drink but the body and mind of the sick person himself.
4. How do you see the future of Lombok as a tourist destination?
Warung Coco beach has been around since 2006 until now. Incidentally this business is in the tourist area so that visitors are not only local people but more foreign tourists.
We have gone through several crises such as the closure of the island of Lombok due to the majestic volcano in Bali, eruptions, earthquakes, etc. resulting in a drastic decline in tourist arrivals.
But always that hope remains because we know all these will end and things will turn out well again. I am sure there are many prayers from many people and good energy for it. Until the crisis that we experience today; the pandemic.
I don't need to explain again all the side effects in health, economy, comfort, fear etc. Not only in Lombok but all over the world. Tourism which is the main income for many Indonesian islands is now jeopardized and that includes Lombok. It’s not only foreign tourists who do not travel since the beginning of the pandemic but also domestic tourists.
At present, flights, shipping etc. are still limited by several Covic 19 protocol rules, such as quarantine, rapid tests, social distancing etc.
As I explained before when we went through several crises before, there was always hope and prayer from many people. Right now it seems best if we can unite our minds, get rid of our fears, improve our health and focus that this world will be just peaceful. Maybe I am too naive to say this but I'm sure as an alumni of Vipassana you know what I mean. Everything just is.
Back to the question how do I see the future of the island of Lombok as a tourist destination… When peace comes, beauty is definitely seen and Lombok is one place to enjoy it. I have not given up hope for it until now. The world will arrive here. Hopefully.
5. Finally, what are your suggestions for female entrepreneurs in Indonesia?
Because I am an ordinary woman, a mother and a grandmother I can only give a few general advise about being happy and responsible in life. My advice for female entrepreneurs is tos tay true to your nature. If you are a woman who owns a restaurant or a food business, take responsibility like a mother who cooks for her children.
The benefit of the food should be that it’s consumed to be your medicine and keep you healthy. Medicine is not food but food is the medicine.
Watch Coco Beach at https://youtu.be/OY-jGVqkWiM
To read more from The Humble Entrepreneur Series click here.
İhbar Hattı
