The Student Executive Board (BEM) of UNY accompanies MSMEs in Pleret Village, Bantul, Yogyakarta Special Region. This activity aims to optimize the potential of MSMEs in Pleret Village based on the Ecoedu Culture Center with various exciting and educational activities and make Pleret Village a new destination center for the wider community. This assistance is one part of the Wira Desa Program initiated by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology. The Village Wira Program is a program for the growth and development of entrepreneurial activities in the village, both group businesses or individual businesses, old businesses or new businesses that can become a driving force for the village economy and become one of the advantages of the village.
UNY BEM Team are consisting of Ismail Fajar Isakhofi, Ari Prigiantika, Fathonah, Luthfia Dwi Rachmani, Nadhifah Nur Etsa, Titan Dwikama Putra, Fadhiil Dhiya Ulhaq, Kurnia Dwi Utami and Ulul Faizah. The team has initiated various activities, one of which was making tofu sticks. According to Ismail Fajar Isakhofi, the tofu stick training was motivated by the large number of tofu producers in Dukuh Gunungan, Kalurahan Pleret, Kapanewon Pleret, Bantul. So far, tofu producers sell tofu in raw and traditional processed such as fried tofu. "Therefore, we took the initiative to process the raw tofu product with an even higher selling value, namely tofu sticks," he said. With this innovation, tofu can be consumed anytime and is easy to carry like a snack. The target of the training is women in Pleret.
The implementation of the training on making tofu sticks was led by a lecturer in food and clothing Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, UNY, Ezra Chica'al Sandya, M.Pd. She said that tofu is rich in soy protein, suitable for people with heart disease and diabetes. "In addition, tofu contains several healthy nutrients, including protein-rich, low-calorie, and cholesterol-free," said Ezra.
One of the training participants, Darsilah, was happy with this training because it could increase her knowledge of processing tofu. "So far I have been selling yellow tofu at Kotagede Market, but during the pandemic, my sales have dropped by 75%," she said. With the science of processing tofu into sticks, the residents of Gunungan Pleret have opened up about other ways to present tofu. This activity is one of UNY's efforts in the sustainable development agenda in quality education and partnerships.
