Rising from Disaster: Universitas Andalas Scouts Support Farmer Groups and Youth Organisation near Campus
PADANG — Fifty students from Universitas Andalas (Unand), drawn from various study programmes and organised within the university’s Scout Student Activity Unit (UKM Pramuka), have deployed to the field with the support of two supervising lecturers to directly assist disaster-affected communities in Kelurahan Kapalo Koto, Kecamatan Pauh, Padang, in the area surrounding the campus known locally as Salingka Kampus.
The activity, named Salingka Kampus Bangkit or SAKABA, is designed to help communities recover and rebuild following a major flood disaster. The programme has been running since 28 January and is scheduled to conclude on 30 March 2026. It forms part of the Impactful Student Programme (Program Mahasiswa Berdampak) administered by the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology (Kemdiktisaintek), with a minimum target of 160 hours of effective student activities (JKEM).
Under the SAKABA initiative, students are constructing vegetable seedling houses for 20 heads of households who are members of disaster-affected farmer groups. The seedlings being cultivated include chilli peppers, celery, lettuce, and aubergine — crops that can be grown in each household’s yard. In addition, Pramuka Unand is providing training to farmer group members on the production of organic fertiliser for vegetable seedlings.
Beyond the farmer groups, the Karang Taruna (Youth Organisation) of Kelurahan Kapalo Koto has also been empowered through the programme. Local youth have been engaged in community social activities, including the provision of clean water facilities and health education for 10 families currently living in temporary shelters in the Suku Tanjung area of Batu Busuk.
The students have emphasised that they are present not merely to distribute aid, but to collaborate with farmer groups and youth to build sustainable systems that restore both agricultural production and community social life. The programme aims to strengthen the social, economic, and food resilience of the community whilst affirming the role of the university in the Salingka Kampus area.