For most people in the world there, smoking is considered as an act repulsive, taboo, and condemned. But not for us. Who was born as a man of Java.
Smoking is a culture in the land of Java. Kretek is the cultural heritage. Old, young, they casually enjoy cigarette smoke out of his mouth.
I was born as the Javanese, grew up in Java, with strong traditional cultures. If you can trace my family history. The father of my father, my grandfather, was a smoker. Has 4 smokers son. My father started smoking when he was 14 years old.
The father of my mother, a smoker too. Born in the highlands of Temanggung. Where there is the best tobacco producer in the world. Gudang Garam and Djarum open warehouse to accommodate tobacco production Temanggung area (central Java). My maternal grandfather, have tobacco fields. Which produces the world’s best tobacco of 4 tons per harvest. So, culturally, I was never far from Tobacco.
I myself was born in Temanggung. From childhood, after coming home from school, I often helped my grandfather picked tobacco caterpillar from turning tobacco leaves. When the harvest begins, I often help them take care of workers tobacco chopper. They leave them on a field made of woven bamboo. We call it “rigen”.
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