Rukmiati produces rubber. Her trees are cut in a specific way so the sap runs into a metal cup which she has attached to the tree. Every two days she takes 1 cup of rubber sap from each of the trees on her approximately 10 hectares of land. Rukmiati lives on Kalimanton, Indonesia and she was able to buy land there very cheaply back in 1991. She buys the trees when they are young and plants them. She has invested her KOMIDA loan capital (1 million IDR the first cycle – about $76 USD and 2 million IDR the second cycle – about $150 USD) mostly in fertilizer because that increases the rubber production. Her children help her sell the rubber, usually to a local middleman who then resells to larger businesses in Banjarmasin.
Rubber production is a big investment because it usually takes 5-7 years before the trees start producing. The trees will usually produce for 20-25 years.