Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM), through its Community Service Program (KKN-PPM), continues to demonstrate its commitment to regional development. UGM has deployed a KKN-PPM student team, Waksudha Bansari, to Bansari District, Temanggung Regency.
This time, the UGM team is collaborating with the Temanggung Regency Government to accelerate the development of ecotourism and digital agriculture. The collaboration underscores the active involvement of the government, academia, local communities, and the private sector in enhancing community welfare and empowerment.
Chiara Aura Fajrin, a member of the UGM team, stated that the team is collaborating with the Regional Development Planning Agency (Bappeda) of Temanggung Regency to align KKN-PPM activities, focusing on strengthening village economies, developing nature-based tourism, and digitizing the agricultural sector.
“In this collaboration, Bappeda serves as the coordinating hub across sectors, ensuring that the direction of UGM’s KKN-PPM programs aligns with the region’s medium- and long-term development vision,” said Fajrin in a statement to reporters on Thursday (Jul. 3).
She added that the KKN-PPM in Bansari District, Temanggung Regency, represents a progressive step to advance the area’s natural resources while empowering its human capital.
“Our focus is on developing villages based on local potential, combined with digital and educational approaches,” she explained.
Rudi Astoto, Head of Bansari District in Temanggung Regency, stated that the district’s current development priority is to empower communities and improve their well-being through ecotourism, conservation, and agricultural education initiatives, particularly through the agrotourism potential currently being developed.
“We hope the UGM team can address the challenges of rural modernization through synergy between technology, local culture, and community capacity building,” he said.
The KKN-PPM in Bansari, Temanggung, is scheduled to run until August 2025 to develop a prototype for a digital and eco-based tourism village that features a sustainable ecosystem. To achieve this, the Waksudha Bansari team has designed a variety of work programs tailored to the specific conditions of each village. Through a multidisciplinary approach, the students serve as agents of transformation, driving innovation, building local capacity, and sharing knowledge in adaptive ways that align with the characteristics of the three villages.
“All activities are directed toward building an inclusive and sustainable process, with the ultimate goal of achieving village self-reliance and improving residents’ quality of life,” said Fajrin.
Author: Rafif Rusmana
Editor: Gusti Grehenson
Photograph: KKN-PPM UGM Temanggung