SARAH, ENTREPRENEUR; KOJO PLANT

Sometime last year, I met Sarah Judith, a super stylish entrepreneur and mother of 3 amazing, gorgeous girls (her eldest is seventeen while her youngest girl is thirteen) through a friend. Apart from her amazing style, I was struck by how kind, enthusiastic and positive she was. She is constantly smiling and always ready to engage into a heart-to-heart conversation with you. It wasn't until I spoke to her on plants that I realized that this lady is extremely talented. Although her education was in law, life has taken her to continuing her parent's landscaping business and KŌJO plant. In modern day context, Sarah is one we call a true plant goddess.

ON HER CHILDHOOD & MOTHERHOOD
"I remembered growing up amongst tons of greens. I have always enjoyed being outside, be it exercising or just sitting around while reading a book. I had my own plants growing up, and so being with nature is very natural for me.

Although I studied law, I wanted to put my daughters first. As they grow up, I realized that I needed something to do apart from being their mother. I'm an active person so I want to always have something to look foward to!"

ON STARTING KŌJO
"My parents have always been in the landscaping business; creating beautiful landscapes in many homes. I found that landscaping was quite rigid, because it was always based on what the customers wanted. If they wanted tropical, we would make a tropical landscape for them. There was very little room for creativity.

As time went by, I also realized that Indonesian homes were getting smaller. People had lesser land to do landscaping and to have plants in home through landscaping was getting trickier. After a trip to Kyoto, Japan, I got really inspired to bring potted plants to our customers. As we already owned a nursery in Bintaro, we had the advantage of creating potted plants for customers.

We started really small, from being online store to stocking our plants in different restaurants like Serasa. After months, we finally opened our first store together with my friend, Cayenne in Kemang."

KŌJO's collaboration with The Heart Project

ON KOJŌ'S UNIQUE MOMENTS
"I am proud that through KŌJO, I am able to support local artisans in other parts of Indonesia like Yogyakarta, and Bandung. We work with artisans to create our own ceramics, and to showcase these artisan ceramics to other parts of the world. When I travel to other countries, I'll usually bring a pot made by our local artisan.

We are also currently working on becoming more sustainable. My niece who moved to Surabaya went to Oxford for a short course on how to treat waste products and is active in many waste related conferences. We recently worked together with The Heart Project on reusing plastic waste to make these multipurpose bags. Another use for these bags are as pots."

LESSONS FROM KOJŌ
"A plant owner once texted me and was flustered to learn that one of the plant's leaf is dying. Plants teach us the lesson that you sometimes have to let go to gain more. If you don't cut out the dying leaf, the other leaves can't get proper nutrients to grow. Like plants, life will always come and go. Celebrate that!

I've also learned that we cannot rush through things in life. Plants taught me that nature will always takes its course. I hope that through plants, we can continue to build a collaborative community of plant lovers. Kojo in Japanese language means to grow and I hope more people can get into the joy of owning plants. Plant love is super contagious!"

ON ADVICE FOR ENTREPRENEURS
"Always keep learning. I started KŌJO not knowing a lot about plants. Until today, I am still learning about names of plants. If I go overseas, I will definitely attend new classes or workshops about plants. Bringing this knowledge to Indonesia is important!

I also believe in sharing, and collaborating with others. The more you receive blessings from others, the more you should share it. Humans exist because we need people in our lives! Your soul is attracted to people the same way plants are attracted to the sun, surround yourself only with those who want to see you grow."

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KŌJO Plant is located together with Cayenne Kemang on Jl. Kemang Selatan VIII Blok C No.2 Jakarta Selatan 12730.

They currently have special promotions for Lebaran packages. If you're thinking of gifting your closed ones, why not gift them a plant? We'll also be providing CATHHALIM readers with a special discount of 10% off* for all your plant purchases. Good luck with adopting your first pet plant and don't forget to name it!

*Limited offer is available. Please mention that you're our reader to receive an instant 10% off.