Villages in Indonesia do not lack development programmes. Various\nactivities exist with different objectives: waste management,\nmicro-enterprise empowerment, food security, institutional\nstrengthening, and local potential development. Each problem is\ntypically handled through its own separate programme. The issue is that\nproblems in villages do not stand alone. Waste is linked to community\nbehaviour and service availability. Food enterprises require not only\nproduction capability but also raw materials, financial management,\nproduct quality, and markets. Meanwhile, community institutions\ndetermine who will run activities after the facilitation period\nends.<\/p>\n
An integrated perspective is actually in line with the direction of\nvillage development. Within the Village Index framework, village\ndevelopment encompasses the interrelated dimensions of basic services,\nsocial, economic, environmental, accessibility, and village governance.\nThis means village development should not be carried out through\nactivities that run independently of one another.<\/p>\n
The updated National Waste Management Information System (SIPSN) for\n2025 shows that waste generation in Tangerang Regency reaches\napproximately 2,663 tonnes per day. In Pondok Kelor, the waste problem\nis visible from piles of household rubbish at several residential\npoints. Some waste is burned, dumped on vacant land, or left to\naccumulate because regular collection and transportation services are\nnot yet available. This condition is easily perceived as a problem of\nlow public awareness. However, asking people not to dispose of or burn\nwaste will be difficult to yield change if no service enables them to do\nthe right thing. Therefore, the problem is not only how to change\nresidents\u2019 behaviour, but also how to build a service system that can\nsupport that change.<\/p>\n
In the initial stage, Pondok Kelor\u2019s needs are quite basic: building\na waste collection and transportation service that can run routinely.\nThe Karang Taruna youth organisation became the main partner because its\nmembers know the area, are close to residents, and have the potential to\nbecome drivers of community-based environmental services. Appropriate\ntechnology in the form of a three-wheeled vehicle, or bentor, is used to\nsupport waste collection and transportation to a temporary disposal site\n(TPS). However, the bentor is not the programme\u2019s goal. The vehicle is a\nmeans so that a service previously unavailable in a structured manner\ncan begin to operate. The more important questions arise after the tool\nis available. Who will operate it? How is the collection schedule\narranged? Which areas are served? How are tasks divided? How are\nactivities recorded? Where do the costs for fuel and vehicle maintenance\ncome from? These questions show that the main problem is not the tool,\nbut the system that allows the tool to function sustainably.<\/p>\n
Therefore, strengthening Karang Taruna cannot be done through\ntraining alone. This organisation needs to have a division of tasks,\noperational mechanisms, record-keeping, communication with residents,\ncadre regeneration, and gradually a financing scheme that allows the\nservice to continue. In the first phase, Pondok Kelor has not yet\nreached the stage of waste processing. The focus remains on building a\ncollection and transportation service that was previously unavailable in\na structured way. This stage is important because a more complex system\nwill be difficult to develop if the basic service itself has not yet\nbeen formed.<\/p>\n
Another problem was found in the local food business group under the\nVillage-Owned Enterprise (BUMDes). The community actually already has\nproduction capability, especially in processing cassava-based food.\nHowever, the ability to make products does not automatically result in a\nsustainable business. Bookkeeping is not done consistently. Business\nfinances are still mixed with household finances. Product quality is not\nuniform, while packaging and marketing still need strengthening.\nTherefore, business development should not necessarily start with adding\nnew product types. The business foundation needs to be improved first\nthrough financial literacy, simple bookkeeping, quality control,\npackaging, and marketing.<\/p>\n
The name Pondok Kelor indicates the relationship of the moringa plant\nwith this village. However, along with changes in land use and\nsettlement patterns, the presence of moringa trees has increasingly\ndiminished. Many trees were cut down because the community no longer saw\nthem as having significant economic value. Many villages try to find a\ncommodity or characteristic to build their identity. Pondok Kelor\nalready has one. The challenge is how to make this identity relevant\nagain and provide benefits for the community. Reviving moringa cannot be\ndone simply by distributing seedlings and asking people to plant them.\nIf the community does not see the benefit, the movement risks stopping\nafter the activity ends. Therefore, planting must be linked to\nutilisation. Karang Taruna can drive moringa planting based on home\ngardens as part of environmental activities. The plants that grow can\nthen become a source of raw materials for local food development. The\nbusiness group under the BUMDes can gradually develop its utilisation\nafter the foundation of business management, product quality, and raw\nmaterial availability is more prepared. This is where moringa has a\nstrategic position. Planting moringa supports greening while providing\npotential raw materials, and the business group can develop it into\neconomically valuable food products. In this way, environmental\nactivities and business strengthening do not run separately. However,\nthis development does not need to be rushed.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/village-development-cannot-be-done-piecemeal-1786517434", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }