Gorontalo (ANTARA) - A representative office of Bank Indonesia (BI/central bank) in Gorontalo Province is committed to helping local micro-small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) develop water hyacinth.

Assistant Analyst for the Implementation of the MSME Development Function of BI's Gorontalo provincial office, Muhammad Asep Zaenal Ansory, said here Wednesday that the commitment was carried out through a training program for water hyacinth crafts.

"The name of the program is a basic training program for developing water hyacinth crafts, one of the stages of development of water hyacinth products that were just introduced in 2018," he said.

He noted that the activity was a continuation of the first phase for the Tiar Handmade group, one of the new groups in BI's Gorontalo representative for water hyacinth.

"In this first stage, focusing on research and product development, we want to know what water hyacinth crafts are, how to make them, and determine the quality the buyers want," said Asep.

They also wants to perform research into what trends are developing and selling in the market.

"After this, there are three more stages, starting from the development of capital access, then marketing and institutionalizing. So, from the netted groups, it is hoped that there will be commitments, not just training," he said.

The follow-up of the program is that each participant can actively produce water hyacinths and become a supplier for the Tiar Handmade group.

Translator: Bambang Purwanto
Editor: Sri Haryati
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