In response to many childhood stunting cases in Banyuwangi, community service students in Siliragung came up with the idea of dragon fruit pudding.
According to the Student Coordinator of the Siliragung Unit, Andini Lestari, dragon fruit pudding is a processed food innovation to fulfill the local fruit intake for children in the area.
“Pudding was chosen because of its soft texture and easy digestibility for toddlers,” said Lestari during the monitoring and evaluation the Rector of UGM attended on Friday (28/7).
The benefits of dragon fruit pudding serve as an alternative nutritious supplementary food for children, utilizing local fruits as the main ingredient.
The coordinator stated that the Siliragung region and its surroundings are known as one of the centers for dragon fruit in Banyuwangi. The production of dragon fruit pudding is relatively easy and rich in nutritional content for pregnant women and toddlers.
“It is rich in carbohydrates, protein, fat, fiber, vitamins, and minerals,” she said.
The Head of the Pesanggaran District’s Community Empowerment, Sujono, welcomed the presence of UGM’s Community Service students in his region. Community service programs bring new ideas, especially in processing abundant dragon fruit products.
“Previously, dragon fruit was mostly sold as fresh fruit. Now, there are ideas to make dragon fruit pudding, dragon fruit-filled pastries, and more,” explained Sujono.
Sujono admitted that during the peak harvest of dragon fruit when the supply is abundant, the selling price can be pretty low, around 4,000 to 5,000 Indonesian Rupiah per kilogram.
With the innovation of dragon fruit pudding, farmers and health cadres can make and sell it in different forms.
In line with Sujono, Hendro Prasetyo from the agro-tourism of orange and dragon fruit picking in Pesanggaran added that the presence of the students brings new enthusiasm for dragon fruit farmers.
The women in micro, small, and medium enterprises are also inspired to develop their dragon fruit businesses.
“They only recently discovered that dragon fruit can be used to make pastries, pudding, and even fertilizer. It’s very helpful,” said Prasetyo.
UGM’s mandatory Community Service aligns with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly in the role of students in achieving zero hunger and reducing poverty through supporting MSMEs.
In the middle of this year, UGM dispatched around 7,079 students from 19 faculties to serve in 31 provinces, 97 districts, 204 districts, and more than 400 villages across Indonesia.
Author: Satria