Depok, June 20th, 2023. The lack of land in urban areas and the need for a healthy life has made the trend of gardening activities in the middle of cities increasingly prevalent. Departing from this, the Faculty of Economics and Business, Universitas Indonesia (FEB UI) carried out a community service program entitled “Development of Organic Urban Farming for the Depok Ibu Hebat Community” in Sawangan Baru Village, Depok, West Java.
This community service program was funded through the Community Service Grant of the 2023 Social Movement scheme organized by FEB UI. The community service team was chaired by Sri Rahayu Hijrah Hati, Ph.D. from the Halal Industry Cluster with two other FEB lecturers. This team also collaborated with Dr. Sari Viciawati Machdum from the Department of Social Welfare, Faculty of Social and Political Sciences (FISIP) UI and supported by the Social Welfare Science Student Association in the development of the Dahlia Compost Depot Community, Sawangan Baru, Depok city.
Sawangan Baru Village, Depok, West Java, was chosen because in the area that consists of 49 neighborhood units (RT) and 10 neighborhood units (RW), a community for environmental development and community business has been formed called the Ibu Hebat Community. The Ibu Hebat community is known to be active in various activities, such as making various chips (under the guidance of the Social Welfare Department of FISIP UI), dumplings, pastries, compost, and organic urban farming. However, in their organic urban farming activities, this community encountered obstacles in increasing productivity. This was due to a lack of knowledge about agriculture and a lack of funding to obtain high-quality vegetable seeds.
The handover of the plant seeds was attended by the Secretary of the Sawangan Baru Village, Reza Tanzila, the Head of RW 008 Sawangan Baru, and the Head of RT 003 Sawangan Baru, as well as members of the Ibu Hebat Community on Saturday (17/5). “This activity certainly supports one of the achievements of the SDGs Sustainable Cities and Communities and Good Health and Well-Being targets, even though in a very small scope. In addition, organic farming in urban areas is also aligned with the net zero emission program in Indonesia,” said Sri Rahayu.
Organic urban farming has ecological benefits to create green space in densely populated areas and guarantee food security that is safe for our health and does not damage the environment. From a social and economic point of view, this activity supports the Ibu Hebat Community to always develop and empower women to be independently self-sufficient, and help the family’s financial condition by increasing the number of harvests and their income.
Various community service programs that have been carried out by FEB UI, both on a national and international scale, through several schemes, are namely (1) Online Community Education, (2) Social Movements, (3) Departmental Assignments and (4) International Partnerships. All Community Service Programs are coordinated under the Community Service Research Unit (RPM) led by Dr. Dwi Nastiti Danarsari. This activity was carried out in order to realize the vision and mission and actualize the ideals of FEB UI as an inclusive, relevant and reputable educational institution .
After the organic urban farming program is implemented, periodic monitoring will be carried out by the FEB UI community service team to maintain sustainability and evaluate crop yields. The expansion of the organic urban farming program in the Sawangan Baru Village area and other areas will also be taken into account through the results of this evaluation later.
Training for the Ibu Hebat Community will also be held to help market their products effectively and on target. This is an implementation of FEB UI’s mission to contribute to the development of knowledge in economics and business. “Hopefully this collaboration will not stop here, but will be expansive, sustainable and provide benefits for all of us,” said Sri Rahayu.
