UNS— The Student Association (HMP) of Animal Husbandry Program Appaloosa at Universitas Sebelas Maret (UNS) Surakarta has launched its Organization Capacity Building Program (PPKO) by holding a grand opening and formalizing the establishment of a new business group, “Omah Cowboy”. The grand opening was marked by the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) at Omah Cowboy, Wangan Hamlet, Banyuanyar Village, Ampel Sub-district, Boyolali Regency.
The PPKO is a program initiated by the Directorate of Higher Education (Dikti), Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology (Kemendikbudristek), focused on community service and empowerment in villages or urban areas.
The UNS PPKO HMP Appaloosasecured funding from Kemendikbudristek’s PPKO with the project titled “Optimizing the Potential of Banyuanyar Village, Boyolali, through Strengthening Creative Economy Based on Dairy Product Enterprises to Support Entrepreneurial Villages.”
The grand opening event was part of the PPKO activities designed to introduce the project to local partners and kick off a series of production support initiatives for dairy products with the partner group.
The event was attended by the Acting Vice Dean of Academic Research and Student Affairs at the Faculty of Animal Husbandry UNS, Dr. Agr. Ir. Sigit Prastowo, S.Pt., M.Si., IPM., ASEAN Eng., Head of Banyuanyar Village, Komaruddin S.T., faculty advisor of PPKO HMP Appaloosa, Bayu Setya Hertanto S.Pt., M.Sc., PPKO Appaloosa Team Leader, Kholifia Ahsanul Mufidah, Animal Husbandry and Food Technology students from UNS, as well as members of the business group involved in the project.
Kholifia Ahsanul Mufidah, the team leader, explained that Banyuanyar Village was selected as a target village because of its diverse potential across various hamlets. One significant potential lies in dairy production, with Wangan Hamlet being the primary center, producing 500-600 liters of milk daily from approximately 75 productive dairy cows.
“As a result, Wangan Hamlet was chosen as the dairy-based product processing center, and the Omah Cowboy business group was established,” Kholifia explained to uns.ac.id on Friday (13/9/2024).
However, the Omah Cowboy business group has not yet fully tapped into the potential of Banyuanyar’s dairy production. The group currently produces only two products—milk pies and yogurt—with just five members, and production depends on seasonal demand. The PPKO HMP Appaloosa team addressed these challenges by diversifying dairy products, including milk tofu, milk sticks, milk candy, mozzarella cheese, powdered milk, nutritional labeling, product legality, and establishing a sales outlet.
The formal establishment of the Omah Cowboy business group was marked by the signing of the cooperation MoU by Parmono, the head of the business group, and Kholifia, witnessed by the PPKO HMP Appaloosa faculty advisor. “The grand opening event, held on Monday (8/7/2024), concluded with a discussion session and a group photo,” Kholifia added.
The PPKO HMP Appaloosa activities in Banyuanyar Village aim to empower and optimize dairy product processing, expand the Omah Cowboy business group’s membership, and enhance product innovation skills among local women.
“With high-value products, this effort is expected to increase the additional income of Banyuanyar Village residents by utilizing dairy products processed on a larger scale with broader market reach,” Kholifia concluded.
HUMAS UNS
Editor: Dwi Hastuti
