Deadly Tiwul, some of medias named the source that caused 6 children of Jamhamid and Siti Sunayah died in Jepara, Central Java. Medias reported that these 6 brothers and sisters died because consuming tiwul as replacement of rice that was expensive. Poverty and Food, two things that we extracted from the case.
Jamhamid family lived in poverty with so many burden, that what medias reported. Do not mention about sending the children to school, they even do not have enough money for covering their daily food need.

Jamhamid is working as assistant to a tailor, with minimum payment, while his wife helps him by “ngasak” or looking for left-over cassava yield from neighbor’s garden to be made as gaplek or flour. More increasing price of rice has made this main food material unreachable by the Jamhamid’s. Like other poor families, they choose to consume “tiwul”, made from gaplek. Like other poor families, they choose tiwul as their main food. During the mourning time, Siti was frightened because some media  put her in the corner by reporting that she has poisoned her 6 children. It’s like the idiom of having double misfortune. Jamhamid and his wife is still living in poverty after their 6 children died. Another misery has been added by the medias that unwisely reporting about this “deadly tiwul” tragedy.

Medias raised this Jamhamid’s case from Jebol Village, Mayong sub-district, Jepara as the problem of poverty. There’s always story form this nation at the time Indonesian Government is sure aboutthe decreasing poverty figures. However, it seems that our medias were not also clever in seeing this tiwul case. Tiwul has been perceptioned as food that consumed only because of people are unable to buy rice With all low-values about tiwul, such as lower price than rice, represented as symbol of backwardness, tiwul is considered to be less prestige.

There is a history behind perception on tiwul that is not equal as rice. Once in Soeharto’s era, there was a policy of “rice self-sustained” and asked farmers to focus on planting rice. Without paying attention on the diversity of foods in Indonesia, this policy was applied, implemented in all areas of Indonesia.

All farmers “were obliged” to plant rice for this “self-sustained of rice”. However, this plicy seemed to be just wanted to fulfill the needs of rice consumers. Not all areas in Indonesia consuming rice as main food, but there are others who consume cassava, sagu, and other ubi-ubian.

Once again, tiwul is part of our food diversity. The tiwul poisoned case in Jepara could not avoid the fact that it lower tiwul’s image as part of this diversity. Tiwul seems to be an irony. Regardless of  the reason of Jamhamid’s children death, it is clearly that other neighbours of Jamhamid are used to consume tiwul as main food.
In some other areas, tiwul is consumed as main daily food, such as in Pacitan, Trenggalek, Wonogiri, Lampung and other areas. It is consumed as alternative of rice. They like tiwul to be consumed in the morning as snackfood that could be found easily at the traditional markets.

Beside traditional markets, modern markets are also providing tiwul as one of their properties to be sold, in the form of instant tiwul. One of the producers of isntant tiwul is Tambah Subur Village, Way Bungur Subdistrict, East Lampung. In this area, there is an empowerment program for cassava farmers and it’s by-products, conducted by Masyarakat Mandiri – Dompet Dhuafa.

Jaya Makmur Group has produced instant tiwul for the past one year. The idea producing this product cannot be separated from the culture and history of the villagers of Tambah Subur Village who are the transmigrants from Java Island and planting cassava at the first time before the policy if planting rice implemented. The people then practically get used to consume tiwul as their main food, However later, the rice has replaced tiwul as main food and tiwul is just being consumed as alternative menu.

The fact is that nobody gets sick by consuming tiwul. And there is other fact that tiwul is suited to be consumed by people who have diabetes, as well as these other few foods : cassava, red rice, potatoes, talas, sweet potatoes and few others that contain carbohydrates that are easy to be absorbed by the body.

Inovative efforts of cassava farmers to make and produce instant tiwul can not be separated from the “longing” of tiwul, that could be representing ”the love of the nation” of our food diversity. Diversity is a potency and for sure tiwul is not an irony.