Pearl farming brings financial success

AP Television Mentawai Islands, Indonesia - 14 Feb 2012 1. Close up of pendant with "Allah" symbol made of Mabe Pearl 2. Various close ups of pendants 3. Wide of Hardimansyah walking 4. Set up of Hardimansyah watching his staff working 5. SOUNDBITE: (Indonesian) Hardimansyah, Head of the Sikakap Maritime Development Bureau: "I was really surprised. The pearl oyster has never been found in the western part of Indonesia, especially here in Mentawai Island. To make sure that it was the case, I consulted and sent some photos and samples to the National Cultivation Agency. They confirmed that they were pearl oysters." 6. Mid of a diver surfacing from water and putting pearl oysters on plastic bank 7. Close up of pearl oysters 8. Wide of Hardimansyah slicing tissue from an oyster 9. Mid of part of oyster tissue 10. Close up of Hardimansyah 11. Various of a pearl being inserted into oyster 12. Wide of oyster wrapped inside a nylon net. 13. Mid of nylon net being submerged into water 14. Various underwater shots of pearl oyster net 15. Various of net being raised from water and taken away 16. Mid of pearl oysters ready to be harvested 17. Close up of Mabe Pearl seen inside pearl oyster 18. Various of Hardimansyah opening a shell and taking out a round pearl 19. Close up of a round pearl 20. Tilt up from round pearl to Mabe pearl 21. SOUNDBITE: (Indonesian) Hardimansyah, Head, Sikakap Maritime Development Bureau: "When I become very successful in pearl farming I want the people here to follow in my footsteps so they can increase their standard of living. It is very easy to farm pearls. It doesn''''t cost a lot of money and only requires patience. I hope one day Mentawai will be famous for its pearls. The Mentawai Pearls." 22. Wide of Pagai Selatan Island, part of the Mentawai islands 23. Wide of Sikakap, the capital of Pagai Selatan from far 24. Wide boy on platform watching a boat 25. Various of market in Sikakap town 26. Wide of Zaidir working in his workshop 27. Various of Mabe pearl being cut and polished. 28. SOUNDBITE: (Indonesian) Zaidir, Pearl and Shell Artist: "I have increased my income. Now, I have some extra money to be able to put all my children through school 29. Various of handicraft made from shells and pearls on workshop table LEADIN The Mentawai Islands in western Indonesia, well-known to surfers for their enormous off shore waves, have found another way to sustainably exploit the archipelago''''s major asset - the sea. Thanks to the finding of unusual pearl oysters in their wild waters, some locals are turning pearl farming into a lustrous business. STORYLINE This beautiful pendant is not an ordinary pendant. Its "Allah" symbol was custom made by a king jeweller of the sea. Nothing is wasted for Mr. Hardimansyah, the man behind the art. He is the head of maritime development in the Mentawai islands of Indonesia. In 2007 he dove into the waters of Mentawai and found the Pteria Pinguin and Pinctada margaritifera, commonly known as Pearl Oysters; an unusual discovery for this western region of Indonesia. Hardimansyah says he was taken aback by his findings. He explains: "I was really surprised. The pearl oyster has never been found in western part of Indonesia, especially here, in Mentawai island. To make sure that was the case, I consulted and sent some photos and samples to the National Cultivation Agency. They confirmed that they were pearl oysters." With limited knowledge of pearl farming, Hardimansyah tried to cultivate one-hundred pearls, but only managed to harvest 8. After persevering for 5 years, he now harvests more than 2-hundred round pearls a year. 12 months later, it''''s time to harvest. Two kinds of pearls are cultivated here: Mabe and the Round pearls. You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/c4f1b5dc55b23ee6f8a6f70b9255dbd9 Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork