Empowering Villagers, IPB University’s Dosen Pulang Kampung Team Assists in Making Used Cooking Oil Product Promotion Media
The Dosen Pulang Kampung Program (Dospulkam) is one of the activities designed by IPB University to provide opportunities for lecturers to do activities in locations that have historical and sociological value personally. This program is a form of self-service of IPB University lecturers as sons of the region to help the village or homeland by bringing innovations on campus.
Through the Dosen Pulang Kampung Program (Dospulkam) 2024 program, the IPB University team chaired by Dr Nanik Purwanti with members Dr Dyah Wulandani, Dr Emmy Darmawati and Lilis Sucahyo, STP, MSi held a training on making product promotion media held in Triyagan Village, Mojolaban District, Sukoharjo Regency, Central Java.
This training was part of a two-day series of training activities on processing used cooking oil into valuable products in the form of soap and aromatherapy candles. The activity was held at Triyagan Village Hall and attended by representatives from the Family Welfare Empowerment (PKK) and RT/RW.
“This training aims to introduce and provide skills in using digital media as a means to create promotional media for soap and aromatherapy candles that have been made in previous training sessions. Through this training, the participants are expected to be able to utilize digital technology to expand their product marketing effectively,” said team leader, Dr Nanik.
During the training, the participants were guided by a team of IPB University lecturers to create promotional media using Canva and TikTok applications. Although there was some confusion due to the participants’ unfamiliarity in using the two applications, the spirit and enthusiasm of the participants remained high.
With patience and help from the lecturers and student facilitators, all participants finally managed to master the basics of using the application. The training also featured speakers from the Jelantah4Change community. Ratih Kusuma, Coordinator of Jelantah4Change in Solo Raya area, shared her experience in promoting and selling aromatherapy candles made from used cooking oil.
Ratih Kusuma also explained the activities that have been carried out, including receiving and collecting used cooking oil donations and educating housewives on the utilization of used cooking oil. This sharing session inspired the participants on how to turn used cooking oil into valuable products and the importance of attractive promotional media to increase the selling value of these products.
Furthermore, Dr. Emmy Darmawati from the Dosen Pulang Kampung Program (Dospulkam) IPB University team gave a presentation on the calculation of the cost of production (COGS). This knowledge provided participants with an understanding of how to calculate the right production costs and determine a competitive product selling price.
Meanwhile, Lilis Sucahyo presented material on visual engagement which included several important aspects in the design of the visual display of product marketing, including the selection of shooting angles, color contrast, placement of text, and others.
At the end of the training, the participants demonstrated the new skills they had acquired and presented their creative designs on Canva and TikTok videos.
The training event was closed by the Chief of Triyagan Village, Pardiyanto, who hoped that the knowledge gained by the participants could be passed on, transmitted to other residents, and have a positive impact on the village economy.
“We are very happy with this training. We got a lot of new knowledge, and we hope we can continue to develop these products to increase our family income,” said one of the participants enthusiastically. (*/Rz) (IAAS/HLF)
