What better way to combat stunting than to provide the community with nutritious, affordable and easily accessible sources of food. Though tempeh is commonly consumed across households in Indonesia, many people still don’t realize the benefits of tempeh and how it can support the nutritional needs of pregnant women.
Earlier this month, close to 40 women consisting of pregnant women, kader (volunteer health workers), and midwives attended a tempeh-making workshop at YUM’s community center in Cipanas. The workshop was delivered by the team from Better Nature Tempeh, one of our donors in stunting prevention. Led by Driando Ahnan-Winarno, co-Founder of Better Nature Tempeh and the Indonesian Tempe Movement, the team delivered the knowledge and hands-on experience on how to make tempeh with a twist.
Ordinarily made from soybeans, tempeh is commonly consumed in Indonesia. However, instead of using exclusively soybeans, local beans and grains were brought to the workshop to inspire the women to create their own tempeh made from ingredients that are readily available to them. From red bean, corn, lamtoro, koro beans, to peanuts, the possibilities are endless for the women to get creative and make tempeh from various beans and grains that they have at home (or easily available and affordable ones at the local market). On top of that, the tempeh wrappings were also sourced from local plants such as banana leaves, teak leaves as well as corn husks.
The women who attended the workshop were thrilled, making tempeh not only from a single ingredient, but also mixing the various beans and grains to create their own version of tempeh. At the end of the workshop, they brought home their tempeh and let it set for 30 hours before the tempeh became ready to cook. Check out the results from the participants…
