Baleq — also Balèq — is a river in the Gajo-Landen-Atjeh border region of northern Sumatra, and the namesake of the Baleq enterprise — the colonial government’s turpentine and resin factory operated by *‘s Lands Caoutchouchedrijf as a separate division from 1 January 1927. The Baleq enterprise was the principal colonial-era turpentine factory in the Netherlands Indies, and the subject of the 1930 pamphlet by Ir. W. Spoor — the principal contemporary monograph on the early factory-scale production of Indonesian turpentine.
The river and the forest complex
The Atjeh-terpentijn pamphlet of 1930 records that the Baleq river separated the two Semnenboschcomplexen (pine-forest complexes) of Paja Djorok and Blangtekoer — both near the road from Takengon to Bireuen in Atjeh — in which the trial exploitation of Pinus Merkusii turpentine began on 14 September 1924. The name Baleq was, in the pamphlet’s account, ontleend (derived) from the river, and was applied to the trial enterprise and later to the definitive factory-scale enterprise that succeeded it.
The trial exploitation of 1924
The Atjeh-terpentijn pamphlet records that, by Besluit van 27 June 1924 — the Besluit of 27 June 1924 — the Regeering placed funds at the disposal of ‘s Lands Caoutchouchedrijf for an exploitatie-proef (exploitation trial) on behalf of the Dienst van het Boschwezen. The trial began on 14 September 1924 in the Semnenboschcomplexen of Paja Djorok and Blangtekoer, and the results were sufficient that in 1926 the Regeering resolved to convert the trial into a definitive exploitation as a separate division of ‘s Lands Caoutchouchedrijf with effect from 1 January 1927.
The factory
The Atjeh-terpentijn pamphlet records that the balsam — the raw resinous exudate of the tapped pines — was originally processed in an oud destilleerketeltje (old distillation kettle) of 100 kg capacity per filling. The balsam was first sieved, then placed in the kettle and mixed with water; heating was by means of an oil-bath, by which the temperature could be raised to 110–115 °C; steam was not passed through. In July 1925 a locomobielketel (locomobile boiler) was brought into service, allowing steam distillation and a notable increase in yield. After the decision to convert the trial into a definitive exploitation, measures were taken to acquire a proper distillation installation: a zo modern mogelijke installatie (as modern an installation as possible) was purchased in France — the home of the quarre tapping method that had been adopted at Baleq — and, after the many delays of transport to the enterprise, the new factory was brought into service in October 1928. In the new factory the balsam was distilled with steam from two horizontal Jonkers steam boilers, with a yield of approximately 75% colophonium and 20% turpentine.
The production figures
The Atjeh-terpentijn pamphlet records the production figures for the Baleq enterprise in metric tons (1000 kg) for the years 1925–1929:
| Year | Hars (resin) | Terpentijn (turpentine) |
|---|---|---|
| 1925 | 5 | — |
| 1926 | 26 | — |
| 1927 | 187 | 51 |
| 1928 | 222 | 62 |
| 1929 | 356 | 104 |
By 1930 the area under exploitation was approximately 1600 ha, entirely in production. The colophonium was packed in cases and sold principally to the batik workshops on Java and, secondarily, to soap factories on the Oostkust van Sumatra. The turpentine was packed in petroleum tins of 18 litres or 15½ kg per tin, and was sold partly in the Netherlands Indies and partly — through the Nederlandsche Handel-Maatschappij — in Europe.
Significance
Baleq’s significance in the historiography of colonial Aceh is as the site of the principal colonial-era turpentine factory in the Netherlands Indies — the enterprise that, from 1924 to 1930 and beyond, attempted to develop a colonial turpentine industry capable of competing in the metropolitan market. The Baleq enterprise is the principal subject of the Atjeh-terpentijn pamphlet of 1930, and its production figures, factory operations, and European market reception are the principal documentary record of the early factory-scale production of Indonesian turpentine. The enterprise also illustrates the way in which the colonial forestry service, the colonial rubber factory, and the metropolitan Koloniaal Instituut worked together to evaluate and promote colonial commodities.
See Also
- Atjeh-terpentijn (Spoor, 1930)
- Atjeh-terpentijn
- Pinus Merkusii
- Quarre
- Colophonium
- ‘s Lands Caoutchouchedrijf
- Dienst van het Boschwezen
- Nederlandsche Handel-Maatschappij
- Afdeeling Handelsmuseum
- Koninklijke Vereeniging Koloniaal Instituut
- Paja Djorok
- Blangtekoer
- Takengon
- Bireuen
- Gajo-landen
- Besluit van 27 June 1924 on Atjeh-turpentine exploitation
- W. Spoon
- L. P. de Bussy
- W. M. van der Veer
- C. Brandts Buys
- 1924
- 1927
- 1928
- 1930
Account from Land en Volk van Atjeh Vroeger en Nu
Site of the original overoude (very old) boschcomplexen initially used by ‘s Lands Caoutchoucbedrijf for pine resin exploitation.
Source: J. Jongejans, Land en Volk van Atjeh Vroeger en Nu (Baarn: Hollandia Drukkerij N.V., c. 1938), pp. —.
Source
Atjeh-terpentijn: tegenwoordige kwaliteit en nieuwe beoordeelingen, by Ir. W. Spoon, Berichten van de Afdeeling Handelsmuseum van de Koninklijke Vereeniging Koloniaal Instituut No. 57, Amsterdam: J. H. de Bussy, 1930, pp. 5–9 (Winning van de terpentijn).
Land en Volk van Atjeh Vroeger en Nu, by J. Jongejans, Oud-Resident van het Gewest Atjeh en Onderhoorigheden, with a foreword by Dr. H. Colijn (Baarn: Hollandia Drukkerij N.V., c. 1938), pp. —.