UNS — Universitas Sebelas Maret (UNS) Surakarta students in Group 92 of Merdeka Belajar Kampus Merdeka (MBKM) Program Grant implemented community empowerment program in Mekarsari Woven Group Pule Hamlet, Sukoharjo Village, Tirtomoyo Subdistrict, Wonogiri District. The community service program was implemented from September 2021 to November 2021.
This program is one of UNS initiatives in achieving the Key Performance Indicator (IKU) set by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology (Kemdikbudristek). The Woven Group was selected based on the community needs on marketing technology, market potential identification, and product variation development. The Team was led by Titi Yuliatun, Biology Education Program Faculty of Teacher Training and Education (FKIP) UNS student.
“This program focuses on helping the issues faced by the community, in the form of marketing the problem of limited marketing reach of the woven products and low product selling price,” Titi explained to uns.ac.id team on Sunday (28/11/2021).
Akhmad Mukhibun, the implementing Team of MBKM Grand Group 92, added that the Woven group also faces a constraint on group management, such as unclear structure and the lack of implementation on main managerial functions.
“The poor structure leads to a poor managerial performance that was not implemented. This condition makes sub-optimum group productivity and an unmeasurable work system,” Akhmad said.
The community service program includes problem mapping, socialization on program plans, lead discussion, the introduction of product innovation, facilities for establishing structure, and explanation on organization managerial duties. The Team also conducted a comparative study to an established woven group, training to produce modern bamboo products, introduction on marketing technology, online marketing training, product photograph training, product packaging, product distribution, and branding process for Pule Hamlet special bamboo woven products.
The empowerment program also involved the stakeholders in optimizing the program, such as the Pule Hamlet government, Sukoharjo Village Government, Non-governmental Organization (LSM) Gita Pertiwi, and bamboo woven partners in social media.
Titi hoped this program could be implemented consistently. “Hopefully, by collaborating with related stakeholders, this community empowerment could be implemented consistently, and the community in Pule Hamlet could be helped,” Titi concluded. Humas UNS
Reporter: Zalfaa Azalia Pursita
Editor: Dwi Hastuti