KKN Nusantara VI 2026 Promotes Contextual Learning with Baduy Tribe

The Directorate of Islamic Higher Education, under the Ministry of Religious Affairs, has officially launched the Kuliah Kerja Nyata (KKN) Nusantara VI 2026 programme. This year’s theme is ‘Caring for Ecotheology, Guarding Tradition: Strengthening Faith, Preserving Nature’, with UIN Sultan Maulana Hasanuddin Banten serving as the host institution. The programme deploys hundreds of students from Islamic higher education institutions across Indonesia to the Baduy community area in Lebak Regency.

Minister of Religious Affairs Nasaruddin Umar provided philosophical guidance to the participants, urging them to become intellectuals who are wise and friendly to nature. He emphasised that these students are not just biological children of the nation but ‘spiritual children’ of their universities, bearing the high expectations of society. He warned them against academic arrogance, advising them to view rural communities as living laboratories where local wisdom has been tested by time. ‘Our ancestors were never deceived by nature because they were friends with nature. You will see a gap between what you learned in lectures as truth and what is practised by local communities. Do not be quick to blame others. You are required to be not just smart, but wise,’ he stated.

Rector of UIN SMH Banten, Muhammad Ishom, explained that the location was chosen because the Baduy community embodies genuine ecotheological values. The programme involves Baduy Dalam, who reject modernisation to maintain nature’s purity, and Baduy Luar, who are more open but still strictly preserve their environment. A total of 240 students from 42 Islamic higher education institutions were dispatched, joining local UIN Banten students. The programme employs contextual learning methodologies such as Asset Based Community Development and Participatory Action Research, aiming to make students agents of empowerment who can integrate religious values with local wisdom to address development challenges.