a productive little tobacco factory on the outskirts of town.
Tobacco was already introduced on Java as early as the 16th century. Smoking of cheroots quickly became very popular among all layers of the population, men and women alike. As tobacco use grew ever more popular in Europe as well, the colonial masters saw the potential for export. Up to date, a lot of Indonesian cigarette factories still churn out millions of cigarettes, mainly for the domestic market. The cigar story is different though. The most successful enterprise of tobacco plantation and processing, starts at the end of the 19th century, when Mr Nienhuys, saw the potential of the fertile volcanic soils in the surroundings of Medan, North Sumatra and persuaded the sultan of Deli to give permission for the cultivation of tobacco. Until this day, the cover leaves from Deli, are the best in the world and various cigar producers worldwide are using the leave to delicately wrap their cigars.
While Yogyakarta is the city famous for the Sultan’s Palace and the Borobudur temple nearby, few people know about a productive little tobacco factory on the outskirts of town. Join us on a tour of smiling girls, sorting, drying, molding and wrapping exquisite tobacco into the sought after smokes, in and outside Indonesia.
