Traditional sugar production in Indonesia uses tree trunks to grind the cane

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.