On Saturday (22/10/2022), the Community Service Team of the Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Indonesia (FFUI), chaired by Prof. Dr. apt. Berna Elya, M.Si., held a community service and empowerment activity with the theme "Making Job's Tears Plant Products Based on Pharmaceutical Technology in Sukajaya Village, South Sumedang Regency." This activity, which was held through the UI 2022 Community Service and Empowerment Directorate Grant, is a form of a series of previous community service activities, namely empowerment and training of the community in Job's Tears cultivation.
The purpose of the training activity held in Sukajaya Village is to guide the community in utilizing the Job's Tea Plant, both from the seeds and leaves, into Job's Tea and Coffee products that have a selling value so that they can provide benefits to the income of Job's Tea farmers and promote the culinary delights of Sukajaya Village. This event was attended by the local community, village officials, and the sub-district head, and also involved Prof. Dr. Alfi Khatib from the International Islamic University Malaysia as one of the expert teams and supporters of this community service activity.
The first training material on the benefits of the Job's Tears plant was delivered by Prof. Dr. apt. Berna Elya, M.Sc., Professor and herbal expert from FFUI. He said that Job's Tears plant has been widely used in various countries as a traditional medicine for various diseases. "Jack's Tears plant contains high antioxidants that can be processed into drinks. Meanwhile, the seeds of this plant also have better nutritional value compared to other cereals so it can be processed into Job's Tears rice and consumed as a functional food substitute for rice," said Prof. Berna.
Training and presentation of materials by Prof. Berna Elya and apt. Roshamur Cahyan Forestrania
Next, material was delivered on the practice of making Hanjeli coffee and tea by apt. Roshamur Cahyan Forestrania, M.Sc., Ph.D. This material was also accompanied by direct practice of making Hanjeli tea and coffee by residents of Sukajaya Village and guided by the FFUI Community Service Team consisting of lecturers, undergraduate to doctoral students, and educational staff. apt. Roshamur emphasized that the process of processing and making Hanjeli tea and coffee products needs to pay attention to the stability of active ingredients and hygiene. The resulting tea and coffee products are 100% natural and hygienic products because they only use natural or plant-based ingredients. One of the Hanjeli tea variants made in this activity is by adding other plants, such as Ginger. This is in line with the potential of Sukajaya Village which is also known to be one of the villages producing Elephant Ginger which until now has not been optimized for its health benefits and economic added value.
Hanjeli tea and coffee making practices
The tea and coffee-making training also included practical training on packaging, packaging techniques, and education on attractive packaging components to increase sales value. Furthermore, FFUI postgraduate students with marketing backgrounds , in collaboration with the community service team from Pelita Harapan University, also participated in educating the community on marketing strategies and product promotion designs. The hope is that the community will not only be able to cultivate the plants but also produce products that are acceptable in the market and can become business opportunities for the Sukajaya Village community.
Examples of Job's Tears Products from educational practices on the use of Job's Tears plants to produce products that have sales value.
In this activity, the community participated in the training well and showed great enthusiasm. Mr. Sukana as the Head of Sukajaya Village said that the people of Sukajaya Village were very interested in learning and developing the Job's Tears plant. This training was also welcomed by the Head of South Sumedang District, Dra. Marlina, M.Si. who attended the activity until the end. She said that this program was very helpful in empowering the community. "In addition to supporting the economy, this activity can help the success of the government's food," said Mrs. Marlina. Furthermore, Mrs. Marlina hopes that the training will not only be given to Sukajaya Village. She hopes that 9 other villages in South Sumedang Regency can also get the same opportunity in the future.
Prof. Berna, as the Head of the FFUI Community Service Team, also expressed his hope that this activity would not only stop at training, but could become sustainable development and produce products that have an impact on improving people's standard of living, alleviating poverty and hunger, and increasing economic growth.
The FFUI Community Service Team together with residents of Sukajaya Village in the practice of making Hanjeli plant products