Lombok Island is one of the areas that has great potential in the development of trigona bee (non-stinging bees that are currently gaining popularity) cultivation with two of the most popular products, namely honey and propolis. Trigona honey and propolis products currently have a fairly high selling power with properties that are beneficial to the human body, so the development of trigona bee cultivation continues to be driven in order to increase the positive impact on the community and improve the economy of the people around East Lombok.
The lecturer of Faculty of Engineering, University of Indonesia (FTUI) Dr. Muhammad Sahlan, S.Si., M.Eng with the Community Service and Empowerment Team of UI introduced two innovations of trigona bee box in several Islamic boarding schools East Lombok, namely Zainuddin At-Sani Islamic Boarding School and Al-Ihsani NW Dasan Baru Islamic Boarding School in the Masbagik area, East Lombok. This community service program aims to help the Islamic boarding school environment such as cooperatives, teachers, and students to take part in the development of trigona bees, so as to increase the productivity and business income of Islamic boarding schools in Masbagik, East Lombok.
The natural conditions in East Lombok which have various types of vegetation support the development of trigona bees. “This non-stinging bee is very suitable for cultivation in Islamic boarding schools, because it does not sting and does not need to be herd or maintained and moved, so the students can still do their activities/study in the boarding school and check the bees at their leisure. In addition, the development of trigona bee biopharming does not require much cost and is practical,” said Dr. Sahlan.
The biopharming development that what Sahlan referred to is utilizing the use of roosters in the cultivation process, with roosters that cost low and are easily obtained by the students (around Rp5000 – Rp7000). In addition, another innovation offered is related to the process of harvesting trigona bee honey which is very practical, without killing many stingless bees so that students can more easily harvest trigona bee honey.
With the theme “Processing and Economic Utilization of Trigona Bee Biofarming“, Dr. Sahlan led the discussion activities with both Islamic boarding schools. The participants from both schools were enthusiastic to discuss and consult related to the obstacles experienced during the cultivation of trigona bees in their respective school. The discussion included colony placement techniques, maintaining colonies to remain productive in producing honey, and how to harvest honey through tools and manually.
In addition to training through discussion sessions, the Community Service and Empowerment Team of UI also provided entrepreneurship assistance for trigona honey bee cultivation. It was guided by one of the honey bee cultivation entrepreneurs in Lombok as a practitioner mentor who is Hasan Asari, S.Pt (Hasanah Lombok Honey Barn Entrepreneur) by demonstrating and practicing together for the breakdown of trigona honeybee colonies.
Muhammad Faizin, as a participant and representative of Pesantren Zainuddin At-Sani was very enthusiastic about the discussion and training related to trigona bee processing. “We are very happy and grateful to Universitas Indonesia, who came all the way in order to help develop trigona bees. Hopefully, the results of this cultivation can be sold in the school cooperative and provide benefits,” said Muhammad Faizin.
