Two proposals of Village Grant Program from UGM succeeded to earn fund from Ministry of Research and Higher Education. The proposals were submitted by Students Executive Board of Faculty of Engineering and the other one by Students Creativity Centre UGM.
The proposal submitted by the Engineering students is entitled “Co-Craft” Community Empowerment Programme in Plampang 1 Hamlet in Kulon Progo as a Facility to Increase the Economy through Creative Coconut Coir Waste Processing into Special Coconut Craft. Meanwhile, the proposal submitted by Students Creativity Centre UGM is entitled “Jamint Bank”, Enhancing Productivity of the Society in Jetak Village through Red Ginger Processing Using Mint-Aquaponic.
Head of Students Creativity Division, Directorate of Students UGM, Ahmad Agus Setiawan, S.T., M.Sc., Ph.D., said UGM submitted 22 proposals in the selection stage which competed for Village Grant from Indonesian Ministry of Research and Higher Education and two of them succeeded to earn the grant.
“We are very grateful our efforts are paying off,” said Ahmad Agus on Wednesday (31/5) at UGM.
Meanwhile, Verna Ardhi Hafsari, chairperson of the team from Faculty of Engineering, said the community empowerment program will be conducted in Plampang 1 hamlet. The idea to process coconut coir waste started from the minimal utilization of its potential. On the other hand, the hamlet has a huge coconut potential. Therefore, she and her friends invited the inhabitants to utilize the coconut coir waste by processing it into a high economic value and environmentally friendly products such as dolls, planting media, and key chains.
“This Co-Craft program is expected to increase the welfare of the society in Plampang 1 Hamlet,” said Verna.
Muhammad Try Hartono, chairperson of the team from Students Creativity Centre UGM said through the Jamint Bank program, he and his 14 colleagues carried the community empowerment program in Jetak Village by cultivating red ginger. In the village, most of the people cultivate red ginger but still using the traditional method, thus the result is not very good.
“Therefore, we try to invite the society to cultivate red ginger using the hydroponic method. Moreover, we choose mint because it is a herbal plant that has a relatively fast harvest period to wait for the harvest of red ginger,” said Try Hartono.
He hopes by implementing this cultivation system, Jetak Village can become a role village model. A herb village that uses hydrophonic system such as aquaponic and fertigation systems with herb plants processing as well as Jamint Bank as one of the family medicinal plants.