Nearly 70 percent of Indonesian people live in villages. With such a large percentage, the village has great potency to support the progress of a country. Unfortunately, many villages have not received attention from the government for development, so the participation of the community, especially young people, is needed to develop villages. The discussion 'Getting to Know All about Village' became an important activity held by the Multiplication of Stube HEMAT in Lampung (Saturday-Sunday, 25-26/02/2023). ‘The participants of the discussion are expected to have a correct understanding of the village, have an overview of the importance of the village in nation-building, and have knowledge about the role and function of society," Rev. Theofilus conveyed his hope in the opening of activity held in the Catur Swako village, East Lampung.
Moderated by Cahyo from the Pondok Diakonia (Diaconal Dormitory) of GKSBS Batanghari, and resource person Sukadi, SP., this activity was designed in a presentation and a question and answer session. As a resource person, Sukadi has an educational background of Agricultural Social Economics and works as a village assistant in a village in East Lampung. As a village assistant, he manages the village potency having hilly topography used as tourism objects in collaboration with the Youth Organization and the local Village-Owned Enterprises (BUMDes). "Village is a legal community unit with household administration based on origin rights and customs recognized by the central government and domiciled in the district area. Etymologically the word village comes from Sanskrit, namely Deca which means homeland, hometown, or birthplace. Geographically, a village is defined as a group of houses or shops in a country area, smaller than a town," said the source person opening the discussion. The village has great potential if it’s managed properly and by having a good understanding of the village will help someone not to underestimate the village anymore.
Sukadi appreciated the multiplication of Stube-HEMAT in Lampung which initiated a learning forum so that children from the village have an experience of knowing themselves, including getting to know their village. He hoped that many village children will make progress so that they can develop, and then manage the potency of their village. Furthermore, he explained the village as an administrative area under the regency, leadership, and ranks in the village government, village structure, and village supervisory bodies. All of this is to make the village self-sufficient, capable of developing villages, and able to empower village communities, having the ability to see and manage existing resources, both natural and human resources. Sukadi encouraged the participants to take part in village development. If there is open access from the village, young people can propose positive activities to be implemented in the village.
Next, Sunday's activity was a workshop with the church members to see their own and regional potency led by Rev. Theofilus A.R. and Thomas Julianto. Most church members are farmers, so they produce agricultural products such as coffee, cocoa, ginger, turmeric, bananas, and cassava. In the workshop, they hope to increase their income, but they were powerless because agricultural products had very low prices, far compared to the increasingly high living needs. There are two things that they hope for, namely being able to manage products so they have high selling value and finding the right buyers/markets. They complained that the market often gives no appropriate reward for the efforts of the farmers.
The
workshop identified business potencies and opportunities that can be initiated
and the need for community and church community empowerment. So for the
follow-up, the need for training and coaching to manage agricultural products,
and a need for networks to bridge farmers and the right market. In addition,
the activity stimulated participants to have a sense of belonging to the
village where they live and encourages young people not to feel inferior but optimistic that they
can also be successful. ***
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