Enhancing Farmers’ Resilience: IPB University Lecturers Conduct Training for Nagrak Women’s Farming Group in Sukabumi
Lecturers and students from the Department of Chemistry and the Department of Biochemistry of the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences (FMIPA), Faculty of Medicine (FK), and Researchers from the Tropical Biopharmaceutical Study Center (TropBRC) at IPB University conducted community service activities through the 2024 Homecoming Lecturer Program (Dospulkam).
The activities were held in South Nagrak Village, Nagrak District, Sukabumi Regency on June 23-24. This event involved the Women’s Farming Group (KWT) of Nagrak District.
On this occasion, Maman Surahman, Chairman of the Agricultural Extension Agency of Nagrak District, expressed high appreciation for IPB University’s initiative. “We are very grateful to IPB University for their attention and contribution. Hopefully, this activity will mark the beginning of many positive collaborations in the future,” said Maman.
The activities included a counseling session on hypertension delivered by lecturers from the Faculty of Medicine of IPB University, Dr Widya Eka Nugraha and Dr Iffa Mutmainah. This session provided in-depth knowledge about the causes, symptoms, and prevention of hypertension.
Participants were also taught how to make various types of healthy drinks such as starfruit and carrot juice (bewo), pandan, bay leaf, and lemongrass decoction (pasase drink), and es kuwut.
Dr Wulan Tri Wahyuni, a lecturer from the Department of Chemistry, stated, “Each of these drinks has benefits in lowering high blood pressure. We hope that through this training, the community can become more independent in maintaining their health by consuming healthy drinks that are easy to make,” she said.
In addition to making drinks, participants received training on making yogurt, which can be a healthy food alternative for digestion and help maintain stable blood pressure.
Afra Najiyah, a student who participated in the training, said, “It’s a pleasure to share knowledge with the community. Hopefully, this knowledge can be applied and beneficial to their health,” she said.
The final activity was training on making solid facial cleansing soap. The lecturers and students provided complete guidance on how to make the soap. Besides being beneficial for skin health, making soap also offers creative economic opportunities for the local community.
Trivadilla, Ph.D., a lecturer who provided soap-making training, said, “We want to empower the community to be not only healthy but also possess skills that can improve their economy,” she said.
Euis, a participant and the head of KWT Kemuning, expressed, “This activity is very helpful for us. Besides gaining new knowledge about health, we also learn to make products that can be sold,” said Euis. (*/Lp) (IAAS/RUM)
