Improving the Welfare of Bamboo Woven Craftsmen in Sidetapa Village, Vocational UI Shared Knowledge about Product Distribution
Being a craftsman of woven bamboo is a profession that still runs in the family of the people of Sidetapa Village, Banjar District, Buleleng Regency, Bali. The results of their woven bamboo crafts are known for being neat and firm and for the main source of income for local residents with a variety of products, ranging from pencil cases, lamp holders, chairs, and other home interiors.
As one of the international export commodities, there are several other cities in Indonesia which are famous for their woven bamboo products, such as Sukabumi, Tasikmalaya, Tangerang, Padang, Sembaturagung Village (Kudus), and Gintangan Village (Banyuwangi). For this reason, an understanding of branding and digital marketing is needed in order to differentiate woven bamboo products from one region to another. In addition, understanding this concept will also play an important role in expanding sales coverage.
Seeing the importance of this, Vocational Education Program of Universitas Indonesia (UI) carried out a community service activity (pengmas) entitled “Digital Marketing Workshop for Woven Bamboo MSMEs to Improve Community Welfare during the Pandemic in Sidatapa-Buleleng Village”, on Tuesday (23/08). In this activity, the entire service team discussed with local residents regarding the branding development to market woven bamboo products more broadly.
One of the service team member who is also a lecturer in the Multimedia Broadcasting Study Program Peny Meliaty Hutabarat, M.S.M., provided education through her presentation entitled “Digital Marketing for MSMEs.” In her presentation, she conveyed the importance of understanding the target market, knowing the types of digital marketing, and the need to dive into social media trends so that the marketing content remains up to date and in line with the target audience.
Head of Sidetapa Village Ketut Budiasa, S.Pd.SD, welcomed the community service activity. “We really need trainings like this to maximize our woven bamboo commodities so that they are more well-known, and their sales increase. Hopefully, the residents can absorb and apply the knowledge that has been delivered,” said Ketut.
In increasing sales figures, business actors are required to be able to adapt quickly to any changes and developments in existing communications. Utilization of information and communication technology on various digital communication platforms, such as websites, e-commerce, social media, is very important for introducing and marketing products.
“This technological advancement should also ideally be accompanied by skills in using the platform, such as producing content, creating narratives, and editing. The greater the marketing scope, the better known the brand will be, the wider the sales can reach, and it will indirectly improve the welfare of local residents,” said Melisa Bunga Altamira, M.Sc as the Head of the Vocational UI Community Service Team.
In its implementation, this community service program is supported by a community service grant program from the Directorate of Community Service and Empowerment of UI. The Vocational UI Community Service Team consisted of several other members, namely Dr. Rahmi Setiawati, M.Sc.; Arius Krypton Onarelly, M.Sc.; as well as two students, namely Ayda Prasasti Paraningratu and Gilang Satria Kemara.
The Director of Vocational Education Program Padang Wicaksono, S.E, Ph.D also expressed his appreciation for the community service activity that had been carried out. “We all know that Indonesia, especially Bali, has a variety of arts and culture that needs to be introduced to foreign countries. It is something to be proud that the beauty of woven bamboo from Sidetapa Village can be recognized internationally. Hopefully, the insights provided by the community service team can be the concrete evidence of Vocational UI’s contribution to the development of local commodities,” said Padang.
