FUNDES 2022 DEVELOPED THE POTENTIAL OF AGRICULTURE TO LITERACY OF DUREN VILLAGE IN KARAWANG
Kawista (Limonia acidissima or Feronia limonia) is a type of plant that is related to oranges (Rutaceae). The plant that the fruit is used for is rarely known by Indonesian people even though this aromatic fruit has benefits for health. In alternative medicine, raw kawista fruit can treat digestive diseases such as diarrhea, whereas ripe kawista fruit has a laxative effect that can be used to treat constipation. In addition, kawista fruit can also treat asthma, mild flu, diabetes, heart disease, high cholesterol, and ulcerative colitis.
One of kawista-cultivating areas is Duren Village, Klari District, Karawang Regency, West Java. Unfortunately, the processing and marketing of kawista fruit in this area is still ineffective. Promotion of kawista is only done conventionally by word of mouth. To develop the great potential of this rare fruit, the Faculty of Administrative Sciences (FIA) at the Universitas Indonesia (UI) was holding “FIA untuk Desa (FUNDES) 2022” program in Duren Village.
FIA UI invited Nadya Ariest as an expert in the field of social media marketing to provide socialization regarding strategies for using social media and e-commerce platforms in promoting kawista fruit. The female laborers who process kawista fruit in Duren Village seemed enthusiastic about participating in this activity. In the activity entitled “Digital Literacy or Society Go Digital”, the students also provided training on creating a kawista fruit business account on Shopee (an e-commerce platform) under the name “rumahproduksikawista”. This step is expected to expand the market share of kawista fruit in Indonesia and even abroad.
Apart from Society Go Digital, FUNDES 2022 also presented two other activities, which are Literasi Membaca or Make Reading A Habit (Kereadit) and Literasi Lingkungan or Penghijauan Rumah Kita (Perukit). The program, which was attended by 50 students and was held on July 29 – August 2, 2022, aims to provide guidance and development of the knowledge and skills of the Duren Village people.
“In the Kereadit activity, we work with the non-profit organizations Read Aloud and Ayo Mendongeng to invite children in this area to learn together through fairy tales. Apart from sharing books and telling stories, the children were also invited to decorate a reading corner called ‘Jendela Desa Duren‘. We hope this reading corner can increase children’s interest in literacy,” said Frigia Amasia as the Project Officer of FUNDES 2022.
Meanwhile, during the Perukit activity, a team of students and the community cleaned up garbage in the village environment and planted dozens of tree seedlings. This was done considering that Duren Village is surrounded by large factories which cause air pollution and an arid environment. During the rainy season, Duren Village often experiences floods. Therefore, afforestation is the right step to overcome this problem.
Manager of Student Affairs FIA UI Dr. Achmad Lutfi, S.Sos., M.Sc. said that FUNDES program is a form of campus approach to the community. “In accordance with the themes being carried out, which are digital literacy, MSME development, and the environment with green villages, I hope this activity can bring the maximum benefits, both for us in the academic world and in society,” said Dr. Achmad Lutfi.
FUNDES 2022 program was carried out thanks to the support from UI and Patriot Desa, a program from the West Java Provincial Government that places young people from West Java to contribute and empower villages. This activity received a positive impression from Head of RT 13 Duren Village Purwoko Adi Kurniawan. “It seems that this is the first time a program like this conducted in RT 13 Duren Village, and we need another constructive program like this to develop the community and the village,” said Purwoko.
