On Saturday (7/9), the Faculty of Pharmacy participated in improving the knowledge and welfare of MSMEs, with educational activities for Poklahsar Mawar Karya Mandiri in Iwul Village, Parung District, Bogor Regency, West Java. The Poklahsar is a group of women engaged in the business of processing catfish into shredded catfish. The activity entitled “Improving the Quality of Food Products Produced by Poklahsar Mawar Karya Mandiri through the Hygienic Production Education Program, Nutrition Knowledge, and Product Marketing Strategy” was led by a team of Faculty of Pharmacy Lecturers, Nurita Andayani and Esti Mulatsari, Faculty of Economics and Business Lecturer at Pancasila University, Chaerani Nisa, and 7 FFUP students who are members of the implementation of the Merdeka Learning Campus Merdeka (MBKM) program. The activity carried out is a Community Service Program (PKM) for the Community-Based Partnership scheme with grant funds from the Directorate General of Higher Education Research and Technology, Ministry of Education and Culture, Research and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia (Kemdikbudristek) for the 2024 budget year.
The activity went very well and was interactive. The event was attended by more than 30 participants consisting of Poklahsar members, village officials, some iwul villagers, and was further complemented by the arrival of the Fisheries Extension team and Dharma Wanita Persatuan (DWP) from the Directorate General of Strengthening the Competitiveness of Marine and Fishery Products, Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (PDSPKP-KKP), so that there was a neat collaboration / cooperation with the same vision in the context of community service.
Several educational materials were delivered to increase the knowledge and business spirit of the Poklahsar group, such as the material: ‘Nutrition in Fish and Benefits for the Body and ‘Regulations, Procedures and Extension of PIRT, and CPPOB’ delivered by Faculty of Pharmacy Students. In addition, the material ‘Strategies for Developing Processed Fish Products to Penetrate the National Market’ was delivered by resource person Puspitaningrum Pratiwi, owner of Gerai D’pita fish processing business. and also the material ‘Diversification of Processed Fish Products’ delivered by Innes Rahmania from the Directorate General of PDPSPKP-KKP.
“Fish can be processed into several food products other than shredded fish such as nuggets, fish skin chips, and fish bone meal,” Innes gave examples of various processed fish products that can be developed by Poklahsar. The resource person also provided strategies in increasing the selling value, including improving packaging and utilizing social media for promotion.
The entire educational activity was followed by the community with enthusiasm and earnestness with the support of the Village Head. “We strongly support activities that can improve the knowledge, economy, and welfare of residents, so we are very supportive if there are service activities from various educational institutions,” said Village Head Iwul Nasim Setiawan.
In this PKM activity, tools were also provided to increase the production capacity of Poklahsar, including freezers for fish storage, oil drainer (spinner), steamer, and other cooking utensils. After the educational activities, the PKM team still has several follow-up programs, namely assistance for the extension of PIRT which has long expired and assistance in processing products with CPPOB.
“We really hope that our community service programs can run smoothly, according to our goal of improving the welfare of the community, and can fulfill our mandate in carrying out the Tri Dharma of Higher Education, one of which is Community Service,” said PKM Team Leader, Nurita Andayani.