Space Seed Holdings Pays a Courtesy Visit to the House of Pakualaman in Yogyakarta
On August 15, 2026, Space Seed Holdings Inc. (Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director and CEO: Kengo Suzuki; “SSHD”) paid a courtesy visit to Pura Pakualaman (the House of Pakualaman) in the Special Region of Yogyakarta, Indonesia, and met His Highness Bendara Pangeran Harya Kusumo Bimantoro (B.P.H. Kusumo Bimantoro), eldest son of Paku Alam X.
PT Awina Sinergi International and the Independent Longan Farmers Association (APKM) joined the visit, and the parties exchanged views on longan seedling research and the future of regional industry built around it.
Background
In August 2025, SSHD visited Ahmad Janan, chairman of APKM, in Yogyakarta and studied the locally established “New Crystal” cultivation model and a grower network of about 700 households. This visit aimed to advance concrete local implementation based on the results of that study.
The meeting
At the meeting, SSHD heard how the House of Pakualaman has worked on developing longan, and the parties discussed the significance of making seedlings themselves an object of research. Breeding varieties, developing seedling forms that withstand transport, and verifying which seedlings suit each piece of land do not necessarily yield answers in a short time. Longan development was positioned as a theme to be pursued with an eye on the future, on the premise that it will be carried on across generations.
SSHD introduced the possibility of joint research with Universitas Gadjah Mada and Universitas Hasanuddin, a research plan on the effects of polysaccharides in the longan aril on cognitive function, and a concept for using the peel and other inedible parts for non-ingestible applications.
SSHD’s analysis of regional land use
In studying this concept, SSHD conducted its own analysis of land use in the Special Region of Yogyakarta using public satellite data.
Of the province’s 318,584 hectares, 70.6% is covered by tree canopy, while open cropland amounts to only 42,295 hectares. Tree canopy reaches 70% in a region where almost no primary forest remains because the Javanese rural landscape itself—home gardens and mixed fruit orchards—is covered with trees.
Securing new flat land is not easy, but land already under tree canopy may have room for additional planting. Longan is a tree crop, and SSHD believes this analysis suggests the possibility of expanding the cultivated area through the supply of seedlings. This, too, points to the significance of seedling research.
Comment
SSHD’s long-term goal is to assemble by 2040 the technologies humankind needs to live in space. Designing systems that produce food while circulating water and nutrients within a limited area is a challenge at the core of that goal.
“Seedling research is work whose results take generations to appear. Hearing how the House of Pakualaman has worked on longan over a long period, I felt it shares the same horizon as the time scale we are thinking about for producing food in space. What we confirm on the land of Java will connect to what lies beyond.”
—Kengo Suzuki, Representative Director and CEO, Space Seed Holdings Inc.
Next steps
Together with PT Awina Sinergi International and APKM, SSHD will continue discussions on longan seedling research and the promotion of regional industry.
About Space Seed Holdings Inc.
Space Seed Holdings Inc. is a space-focused deep-tech venture builder whose mission is “Turning science fiction into nonfiction.” Through investment, research and venture creation—centered on operating the “Fermentation and Longevity Fund” program, which supports the social implementation of fermentation and longevity technologies—the company creates businesses that address societal challenges.
https://ss-hd.co.jp/