A Visit to Kampung Jamu Kiringan: An Awesome Tour Package You Should Try

Kampung jamu (The herbal medicine village), Dusun Kiringan, Canden Village, Jetis District, Bantul, Yogyakarta Special Region (DIY), is arguably a valuable asset for the sustainability of herbal medicine. The majority of teenage girls to adults in Kiringan work as jamu gendong sellers. Not only producing quality herbs, Kiringan is also known as the Desa Wisata jamu (Herbal Tourism Village) with a variety of interesting educational tour packages.

Sumber: jadesta.com

The origin of Dusun Kiringan as a kampung jamu begins with the story of a woman named Joparto. As published on the desawisatajamukringan.com page, Mrs. Joparto’s began to sell jamu gendong around 1950s. Initially, Bu Joparto was a batik worker in the city of Yogyakarta. On one occasion she met a courtier of the Yogyakarta Palace, who then taught her how to mix jamu.

Not wasting the opportunity, Mrs. Joparto changed her profession to become a jamu gendong seller. In the past, the jamu was still peddled by being carried around using wooden basket called tenggok which she would carry on her back with jarit (kind of batik cloth specifically or fastening stuff) and peddled around the neighborhood on foot. Bu Joparto earns more from selling jamu than as a batik worker. As a result, it has inspired other people, starting with two of its neighbors. Up until 2020, there were already 132 jamu gendong seller in Kiringan.

Inherited Jamu-Concocting Ability

The jamu gendong sellers in Kiran will always be around because each jamu master can be said to always pass on their ability to mix jamu to their children and grandchildren. One real example is Mrs. Murjiwati. Quoted from Detik.com, Mrs. Murji admitted that she started selling jamu gendong since 1985, when she was 15 years old.

Sumber: jadesta.com

Initially, Mrs. Murji only saw her grandmother and mother making jamu. When she started growing up, Mrs. Murji was told to sell, even though she had not yet produced jamu independently. Over time, because she saw every day jamu-making practices, finally Mrs. Murji was able to make jamu basah (wet jamu) independently. Now, like what her grandmother and mother did, every morning Bu Murji makes jamu with the help of her husband and children.

Growing Their Own Medicinal Plants

As a kampung jamu, where the majority of the residents need jamu ingredients, the residents of Kiringan also have grown medicinal plants as raw materials for jamu. Although it cannot fully meet the needs of all jamu gendong sellers, growing raw materials independently is very helpful. To meet the shortage of raw materials, jamu traders usually buy from the Imogiri area or to buy the materials at Bringharjo Market.

Sumber: jadesta.com

As quoted from Detik.com, Kampung Jamu Kiringan has the Koperasi Wanita Seruni Puti (Seruni Puti Women’s Cooperative) institution. The cooperative was inaugurated in 2007 by Gusti Kanjeng Ratu Hemas. The cooperative aims to support herbal medicine traders, either wet or instant types of jamu.

Kiringan Has an Attractive Tour Package

After being widely buzzed as a kampung jamu, finally in 2016, the Bantul Regency Government inaugurated Kiringan as a Gendong Herbal Tourism Village. From that official inauguration moment and onward, Dusun Kiringan welcomed and received local or foreign tourists. Not only can you taste jamu directly from the jamu masters in Kiringan, tourists can also get educational tour packages with various themes.

As published on the desawisatajamukringan.com page, tourists can enjoy the rural atmosphere by biking around the village. There is also the practice of making jamu. To increase knowledge, there is a jamu plants tour. For children, there are traditional games, and visitors can also experience traditional culinary delights on the sidelines of the kampung jamu tour. The Kiringan Tourism Village Team accepts individual or group tours.