To help address the unemployment issues related to limited job access for people with disabilities, a group of UGM students has assisted an Empowerment Group for People with Disabilities called Mitra Karya Sejahtera in Gunungkidul Regency with stingless bee farming.
These students introduced the farming of klanceng bees (Trigona sp.), a program with low capital that does not require strenuous physical activity and is safe for people with disabilities.
The five students involved in this Student Creativity Program (PKM) group include three from the Faculty of Animal Science (Animal Science UGM): Aliya Rahmawati Nurkhasanah, Desta Lovefiyana Nurpita, and Satriya Putra Pratama.
Two other students are Muhammad Fahmi Rafsanjani from the Faculty of Cultural Sciences (FIB UGM) and Paras Ardina Aya Shopya from the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences (Fisipol UGM). Moh Sofi’ul Anam, the supervising lecturer, guides the team.
“The students not only provide assistance but also offer training in stingless bee farming,” Nurkhasanah said in a statement to the press on Wednesday (Jul. 17).
She mentioned that the empowerment group has an unused land area of 250 m². Under the students’ guidance, this land is utilized to support productive activities as a location for klanceng bee farming.
“We hope the bees will forage for food from the plants around the farming site,” said Nurkhasanah, the team leader.
Desta Lovefiyana Nurpita explained that the assistance and training program lasts four months, from May to August 2024. The program includes planting bee forage plants, bee farming training, colony selection and transfer, klanceng bee maintenance, and honey harvesting. These activities are conducted at the home of the head of the empowerment group.
“24 members are participating in this program, including individuals with physical disabilities, hearing impairments, speech impairments, visual impairments, autism, mental retardation, and others,” Nurpita explained.
Previously, some training programs such as poultry farming, goat rearing, and catfish farming had been provided but failed due to high capital requirements and the need for physical conditions.
However, after the klanceng bee farming training, Nurpita said the group has new knowledge and skills in stingless bee farming with proper management.
“We also provide material on effective marketing methods and the development of honey by-products like bee pollen, propolis, and royal jelly,” Nurpita added.
In addition to empowering people with disabilities, Nurpita mentioned that the student team also provided training for trainers to the empowerment group’s administrators who participated in the training, enabling them to become facilitators for other empowerment groups.
Hardiyo, the head of Mitra Karya Sejahtera, stated that the assistance provided by the UGM student team is expected to offer new skills to the members.
“We hope this training can be applied sustainably to other disability empowerment groups,” he said.
Author: Gusti Grehenson