FISIP UPR Dean: Build a Cooperative Ecosystem to Empower Communities

The Dean of the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences (FISIP) at Palangka Raya University (UPR), Central Kalimantan, Bhayu Rhama, stated that the launch of the Koperasi Desa/Kelurahan Merah Putih by Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto is an initial step. “Therefore, our focus must shift from merely building cooperatives to building a cooperative ecosystem,” he said in Palangka Raya on Thursday. The real challenge is ensuring cooperatives can grow into professional village economic institutions, trusted by the community and capable of improving welfare. The launch of the Koperasi Desa/Kelurahan Merah Putih is an important milestone in accelerating village and sub-district-based economic development. In Central Kalimantan, the acceleration of the programme is ongoing. Bhayu assessed that the programme’s success should not be measured solely by the number of cooperatives established or buildings constructed. This concept aligns with the government’s policy direction, which positions the Koperasi Merah Putih not as a competitor to small community shops or merely a trading unit, but as a node for strengthening the village economy by building partnerships with MSMEs, farmer groups, fishermen, local business actors, and various community economic institutions. A healthy cooperative not only has access to financing but also possesses good governance, strong leadership, high member participation, public trust, and productive business units that grow according to local potential. He explained that this perspective emerged from FISIP UPR’s empirical experience through various research and community service activities. Assistance results show that newly formed cooperatives generally face issues with organisational capacity, governance, transparency, accountability, leadership, and low public trust. “Therefore, institutional strengthening must run concurrently with the development of business units and community empowerment,” he said. As an implementation of this approach, FISIP UPR has assisted the Koperasi Merah Putih in Bukit Tunggal Sub-district, Palangka Raya City, through a cross-disciplinary collaboration. The team of lecturers from the Government Science Department strengthened the cooperative’s institutional capacity using a Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) approach. Meanwhile, the Sociology Department focused on community economic empowerment by conducting entrepreneurship training based on local potential, resulting in a flagship product of shredded snakehead fish, complete with brand identity, packaging design, and digital marketing development. “This experience teaches us that cooperatives will grow stronger if institutional strengthening goes hand in hand with the development of business units that match the local economic characteristics,” he said. The Dean of FISIP UPR asserted that a cooperative should not merely be a place to sell goods, but must become a centre for learning, innovation, and community economic empowerment. He affirmed that as a state university in Central Kalimantan, FISIP UPR is ready to be a strategic partner for the provincial government in overseeing the implementation of the Koperasi Merah Putih across the province.