Big side hustle: Mohd Zulariffin showing off a dried ketapang leaf he gathered from the forest in Batu Pahat, Johor.
JOHOR BARU: One man’s trash is another man’s treasure, and a lecturer here has proven that point well.
Dr Mohd Zulariffin Md Maarof has been making money by supplying dried ketapang (Terminalia catappa) leaves to the United States market for the past 10 years, since he was a student.
Also commonly known as Indian almond leaves, dried ketapang leaves are valued for their ability to lower the pH, or make the water more acidic, in aquariums.
“Ornamental fish owners have been using dried ketapang leaves to neutralise the pH level in their tanks or aquariums that will give their fish a longer life span.
“In America, the market is really big as there is a lot of ornamental fish owners and breeders especially in states such as New York, California, Texas and even Alaska,” he said here on Tuesday.
Besides for ornamental fish, ketapang leaves is said to have medicinal value, and is able to fight liver problems, diabetes, arthritis, stomach aches, headaches, other than reducing the risk of chronic diseases.
Currently working at Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia as a science and mathematics department senior lecturer, Mohd Zulariffin added that he stumbled upon the business opportunity while studying at Universiti Teknologi Malaysia’s (UTM) Skudai campus.
He said that he was working as an assistant researcher to earn some extra money, but despite having a part-time job, it did not give him much financial help due to the high cost of living as a university student.
Mohd Zulariffin said he did not have a large capital to start a business, which led him to use his knowledge in data and mathematics to survey business opportunities with small capital on the Internet.
“I went to eBay and to my surprise, there is a huge demand from America for dried ketapang leaves.
“There is a lot of ketapang leaves around UTM campus, which I gathered and posted a picture on eBay.
“About 24 hours later, I received many orders from people in America wanting to buy the leaves from me.
“In America, there is a huge awareness among the consumers there who prefer to use organic materials than synthetic ones as it is much safer,” he said, adding that ketapang trees could also be found in forest areas as well as parks and other public areas it was commonly use in landscaping.
Mohd Zulariffin, who made his first RM1mil when he was just 29, also said that he had been sending about 50kg to 100kg of dried ketapang leaves to America on a monthly basis due to the high demand there.
He added that he would sell one leaf at US$1 (RM4.67), where he would put 30 leaves in a box before shipping them via courier service, which costs him about RM8.
“Alhamdulilah, I have been able to make about 40% profit by selling dried leaves to America, and the best part is I have been able to do so in the comfort of my own home.
“E-commerce is a borderless world and Malaysian entrepreneurs should be brave in taking a huge step by marketing their products to America and Europe as there will always be opportunity for them to expand,” he said.
