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Slender high tongkat ali trees on a Indonesian mountain top.

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The tongkat ali traded by Sumatra Pasak Bumi is collected from a remote, secluded forest area. No cars can go there, not even 4-wheel SUVs. The reason: to reach the area where Sumatra Pasak Bumi collects tongkat ali roots, one has to pass through a narrow ravine. The only alternative access would be over steep rock mountains.

And of course, we also check our tongkat ali roots for heavy metal contamination.

The result (certified from the most prestigious university in Indonesia, the Universitas Indonesia in Jakarta:

Lead < 0.01 ppm (less than 1000 times less than what the EU would allow)
Cadmium < 0.01 ppm (less than 100 times less than what the EU would allow)
Mercury < 0.001 ppm (less than 1000 times less than what the EU would allow)
Arsenic <0.001 ppm (less than 3000 times less than what the EU would allow)

The above table only states, that our values were in most cases less than 1000 times what would have been allowed. But they may even be better than that.

The reason is: even the most sophisticated equipment at the most sophisticated lab was not able to detect ANY TRACE of the contaminants.

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"Pasak Bumi" means "nail in the ground". To pull out a pasak bumi / tongkat ali root, a hole has to be digged out around the root which indeed extends straight into the ground. Click the image for an enlarged version.

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Why is our tongkat ali so clean? Because it is harvested deep in the jungles, on average 50 kilometer from the nearest human settlement, and a walk of many hours from the nearest point that could be reached by any vehicle. It is NOT from plantations.

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The tongkat ali roots sold by Sumatra Pasak Bumi are harvested in the wild and have to be carried on shoulders for about 30 kilometers to where they can be loaded on a 4-wheel-drive vehicle. No roads anywhere nearby. Click inside the photo for an enlarged image.

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And why is heavy metal contamination such an issue with tongkat ali? Because it's not the fruits high up in the trees (as in the case of coconut plantations) that is consumed, but the roots. And the roots are the part of any plant that would filter heavy metals out of the ground water.

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Some of the roots Sumatra Pasak Bumi collects are from trees that are 30 years old and older. The collection area is secluded by such dense jungle that it can be reached and left only when following small jungle creeks. Click inside the photo for an enlarged image.

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There may be nothing wrong with the quality of bananas and coconuts from plantations close to human and industrial settlements. But for tongkat ali roots, only those harvested in the deep jungle are fit for human consumption.

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After locating a tongkat ali tree, the hard work is to dig it out of the ground. Sumatra Pasak Bumi only uses the roots of the plant.

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Tongkat ali has to be searched for in remote jungle areas. To get to locations where tongkat ali still can be found, one has to pass through dense forests.

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