IPB University PKM Students Introduce Organic Farming to Bayam Village’s Children

IPB University’s Student Creativity Program for Community Service (PKM-PM) team observed that the agrarian conflict in Kampung Bayam, North Jakarta had a negative impact on children’s education, such as long distance from home to school, trauma, reduced learning time, and children who did not go to school due to eviction.

To overcome these problems, the PKM-PM team designed five major programs in collaboration with Majelis Taklim Kampung Bayam Madani in North Jakarta. The program focuses on self-regulation character education for children affected by agrarian conflict, in order to increase their learning motivation.

One of the programs is the love: growing love activity that was carried out on 22/6, by utilizing makeshift land as a garden around Saung Inspirasi, the temporary shelter of Kampung Bayam.

The growing love activity was carried out by planting seeds of superior agricultural products in Kampung Bayam together with children affected by agrarian conflict due to the construction of the Jakarta International Stadium (JIS).

Daffa, as the leader of the PKM Pancatara team, said that this love program was proposed based on the partner’s request to introduce children to their identity as children of urban farmers. In addition, the trend of organic farming is very promising in the future.

He explained that the series of program activities were carried out through five activity processes, namely the delivery of material, the time capsule burial process, garden preparation, planting agricultural creations on soil media, namely hydrogel and hydroponics and the maintenance process.

“The output of the growing love program is expected to increase children’s understanding of fostering love, especially love for the environment and increasing enthusiasm and motivation to learn through reflection on agricultural activities,” said Daffa.

“I am very grateful, thanks to the Pancatara IPB team, the children in Kampung Susun Bayam can be happy and cheerful again. The children can also forget a little about the trauma experienced because of the forced and rough eviction process by the security officers,” said Furqon as the chairman of Kampung Bayam Madani Association.

Furthermore, he stated that the love program can revive the spirit of farming by utilizing the limited land. (IAAS/Aly)