There are three keys to success for your coffee business to thrive and survive, says Andi Isvandiar Muluk of Sanama Community Empowerment. “Become a specialist, move dynamically, and always be adaptive, these are the keywords. These three things must be realized by collaborating together,” said Andi, while speaking at the training initiated by the Department of Governance of Commerce (DIANi) of the Faculty of Administrative Sciences of Universitas Indonesia (FIA UI).
He spoke about it in front of a community of coffee farmer groups in Megamendung. M. Yusuf Solihatul Munawar, as the Director of Village-owned Enterprise (BUMDes) Megamendung, expressed his gratitude for Andi’s presence—a business consultant and expert in the field of Coffee Food & Beverage. “I hope, through this collaboration, it can help strengthen the capacity of our farmers, and hopefully this collaboration can go on continuously,” said Yusuf.
BUMDes functions to conduct economic business activities through business management. In addition, it develops investment and economic productivity as well as village potential. One of the BUMDes in Megamendung Sub-district, Bogor, West Java, is BUMDes Megamendung Jaya, which has agro-tourism potential in the form of a coffee plantation. It also has qualified MSME potential.
In marketing the products, empowering, and providing training, BUMDes Megamendung Jaya embraces farmer groups and MSME players. There are four farmer groups that are the main suppliers of Megamendung coffee owned by BUMDes.
DIANi FIA UI assesses that the asset of BUMDes Megamendung Jaya can be a source of local community economy. To improve the quality and quantity of coffee produced, it is necessary to strengthen the capacity of farmer groups in the field of production. From this background, DIANi FIA UI initiated activities to strengthen farmer groups in Megamendung Village through community service activities.
“This community service activity is part of the Tri Dharma of Higher Education, not only for lecturers, but also for students in growing social sensitivity towards the community,” said Dra. Eva Andayani, M.Sc., at the opening of the workshop themed “Strengthening Capacity of Farmers Groups in the Coffee Production Sector of BUMDes Megamendung” at the end of last December.
“There must be uniqueness in every place. A business succeeds when it meets two characteristics. The first is narrative. BUMDes Megamendung must be able to create Megamendung stories on social media that attract the public. The second is number. BUMDes Megamendung must produce things with outstanding quantitative numbers, such as the number of coffee sold. Both are core and important things,” said Andi. He revealed that courage and creativity are also the keys for the business to survive and be sustainable.
