ROCK RESIN
Rock resin is a non-timber forest product and is commonly known, resin stone is a resin which is a polysacaride compound produced from certain types of forest. Resin stone is obtained from the secretion (sap) from trees, shorea SP, Vatica SP, Dryobalanops SP etc., from the meranti-merantian or Dipterocarpaceae tribe.
Resin grows in rainforest environments and occurs in lowlands naturally. On the island of Java, damar trees are widely planted in mountain forests. The resin tree grows to a height of 65 meters with round, cylindrical trunks and has a diameter of more than 1.5 meters. Pepagan in resin is grayish slightly reddish in color and peels off in small pieces. It has elliptical leaves measuring 6-8 cm x 2-3 cm tapering towards the rounded tip.
The sap that comes out of the resin can freeze when it interacts with the air, then the sap begins to dry up and can be harvested or collected as tapped copal. The resin obtained and comes out of the natural wound from above or below is called copal excavation.
Rock resin consists of fossilized sap. Farmers usually dig the soil around the trees. Rock resin undergoes a natural hardening process and is generally found in old trees. The stone resin is one of the lowest grade resin with a blackish brown color and comes naturally from a wounded tree.
There are 2 types of resin that are known to the public, namely rock resin and cat rock resin.
Until now, the use of rock resin is quite widely used for:
- Lacquer material
- As a wrapper for sea / land cables
- Resin craft
- Auxiliary material in boat building
- Match making
- Plastic manufacture
- Making plaster
The benefits of resin or so-called resin can be used for industrial needs. For example, cat's eye resin is widely used for a mixture of dyes, paints, inks, and even the cosmetic industry. In certain societies, resin resin is used as fuel for lamps, boat patches and handicrafts. And it can be used as a mixture of aromatic resins, in the form of styrax benzoin which is used as raw material for incense or used as a fumigant disinfectant.