Hydroponic Greenhouse in Labuan Bajo Targets Tourism Lettuce Market
A village-owned hydroponic greenhouse in Labuan Bajo supplies fresh vegetables to residents and tourism businesses, and officials expect significant revenue from the venture.
By Pandi Muktar
Editor: Mursyid Sonsang
· Event date: · 4 min read
Labuan Bajo — A village-owned enterprise in Labuan Bajo has developed a hydroponic greenhouse supplying fresh vegetables to local residents and the tourism sector, but available reports do not support the specific claim that a single farm consistently produces 300 kilograms of lettuce per harvest.
The clearest publicly documented initiative is the Green House Hijau Lestari Hidroponik operated by BUMDes Mitra Bersama in Batu Cermin village, near Labuan Bajo.
According to a report by regional outlet VoxNTT, the greenhouse was launched on 29 August 2025 and is focused on hydroponic vegetable production for both the local community and tourism businesses in Labuan Bajo.
The article quotes village officials predicting that sales from the food security unit could reach about Rp 100 million between September and December 2025 and more than Rp 400 million in 2026, reflecting expectations of growing demand from hotels, restaurants and other tourism-related buyers.
A separate article from Masoem University’s website, discussing strategies to stabilise lettuce sales into the hotel, restaurant and café sector, notes that hydroponic farmers in Batu Cermin supply lettuce to hotels and tourist vessels in Labuan Bajo.
That piece cites an example of a farmer in Batu Cermin achieving an estimated turnover of Rp 54 million from an initial investment of Rp 36 million, suggesting that hydroponic lettuce has become a viable commercial product for the tourism market.
Neither source, however, specifies the number of planting holes, the exact farm layout or a regular output of three quintals — around 300 kilograms — of lettuce per harvest.
The detikFinance photo feature on hydroponic farming in Labuan Bajo, which describes an operation with 1,400 planting holes and three quintals of lettuce per harvest, establishes those figures but does not provide additional commercial detail.
As a result, there is confirmation that at least one hydroponic unit in Labuan Bajo is positioned to supply fresh vegetables, including lettuce, to the tourism sector, and that local officials expect significant revenue from this activity.
Hydroponic cultivation in Labuan Bajo is also documented more broadly in academic and policy studies.
A horticulture assessment by the Manggarai Barat local development agency (Bappeda) notes that one hydroponic grower in Labuan Bajo manages around 1,000 plants on a rotating four-week cycle, harvesting lettuce weekly for distribution to several outlets in the town.
The same study concludes that, despite growing local horticulture production, vegetables, fruit and medicinal plants currently meet less than half of the monthly demand from the tourism industry, and average vegetable availability over five years would only cover about two days of tourism demand.
This context suggests that hydroponic farms are filling part of the tourism supply chain but have not yet eliminated reliance on produce brought in from outside Labuan Bajo.
Hydroponics for a tourism hub
Hydroponic systems grow plants using water-based nutrient solutions instead of conventional soil.
For destinations such as Labuan Bajo, the method offers a way to generate consistent supplies of vegetables on limited land, which is valuable as tourism infrastructure expands and competition for space intensifies.
Case studies from Labuan Bajo, including research on enterprises such as Green Floreska and Bajo Green, describe hydroponic ventures producing lettuce and other leafy greens for hotels, restaurants and visiting tourists.
These studies underline key advantages for tourism markets: cleaner produce, shorter supply chains and the potential for agro-tourism activities where visitors can see or harvest vegetables themselves.
Commercial questions still open
Available reports confirm that hydroponic farms around Labuan Bajo supply lettuce and other vegetables to tourism-related buyers and that at least one village enterprise has projected substantial annual revenue from this business.
However, there is limited public data on the precise cost structure, including spending on water, nutrient solutions, labour, packaging, transport and electricity.
The sources also do not detail contract arrangements with hotels and restaurants, such as whether purchases are made on long-term agreements or more informally based on available harvests.
A Bappeda study argues that strengthening local marketing outlets and improving links with tourism businesses will be necessary for horticulture producers, including hydroponic farms, to increase their share of tourism demand.
To assess the full commercial viability of hydroponic lettuce production for Labuan Bajo’s tourism sector, further information would be needed on harvest schedules, quality standards, selling prices, margins and the comparative cost of vegetables imported from other regions.
For now, the documented evidence supports a more cautious statement than the original claim: Labuan Bajo hosts at least one organised hydroponic greenhouse supplying lettuce and other vegetables to the tourism sector, and local authorities see this model as an important element in strengthening food security and local economic participation in a growing destination.
Sources
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