Community service is one of the pillars of the tridarma of higher education in addition to the darma of education, teaching, and research. Through community service, Universitas Indonesia (UI) is present to provide solutions, including social services, education, and socialization in an effort to advance the welfare of the nation. Again, Vocational Education Program of UI provided education to residents of Tanjung Bunga Village, Samosir Regency, North Sumatra, on April 10-12, 2022 through a community service activity entitled “Socialization of BUMDes Assistance and Development in 2022”.
This time, the education provided was about the development of Village-Owned Enterprises (BUMDes) and digital marketing in efforts to develop tourist villages. The activity is a series of cooperation programs between the Vocational UI with Perum Jasa Tirta 1 (PJT 1) and PT Indonesia Asahan Aluminum (Inalum). This year is the second year of Vocational UI’s community service collaboration funded by PJT 1.
Director of Vocational Education Program of UI Padang Wicaksono, S.E., Ph.D expressed his support for the community service program. According to Padang, cooperation programs with industry should be carried out as a form of collaboration between educational institutions and the industrial world. “Vocational UI always fully supports the Tridarma of Higher Education activities carried out by each academic community. I hope that the cooperation program between Vocational UI with PJT 1 and Inalum will continue so that we can provide many trainings with topics related to tourist village development or in other forms of cooperation,” explained Padang.
A tourist village is a rural area that offers an overall atmosphere that reflects rural authenticity, ranging from culture, customs, daily life, building architecture, and typical spatial layout. In addition, a tourist village also offers the concept of involvement between tourists and the activities or daily life of the local community. For example, tourists can experience what it is like to weave ulos cloth or harvest coffee beans with local residents.
Tanjung Bunga Village as the main location of this community service program has many tourism assets whose management certainly requires the role of BUMDes in order to provide welfare benefits for the villagers. In addition, digital marketing, especially through social media, is also an important part that can be utilized by Kelompok Sadar Wisata (pokdarwis) in promoting the various assets owned by Tanjung Bunga Village.
To maximize the understanding of Tanjung Bunga Village residents regarding the importance of the role of BUMDes and digital marketing in the development of tourist villages, Vocational UI Team provided education on BUMDes Development by Erwin Harinurdin, M.S.Ak.; Operating a Mobile-Website-Based Application/by Andoyo, Java Web Media; Marketing through Social Media by Gracello Yeshua Davny Bonar, A.Md. PMm.; and the Tree Adoption Program as a BUMDes Movement by Dr. Diaz Pranita.
Head of Community Service Team Dr. Diaz Pranita hopes that the education delivered can provide a comprehensive understanding regarding the development of tourist villages through the use of BUMDes and good social media management. “Hopefully what we conveyed can provide maximum benefits for the residents of Tanjung Bunga Village in developing their tourism potential,” said Diaz.
