Gunungkidul has the potential of abundant food sources. One of them is cassava which grows well in Tepus, Gunungkidul. Many Tepus residents process cassava into patilo. But, unfortunately, the production and marketing activities are still on a traditional scale, so they only reach a limited market. Therefore, to improve the quality and market value of the patilo, UNY students who are members of UKM Kristal of the Faculty of Economics of UNY provide assistance and training in the Holistic Program for Village Development and Empowerment (PHP2D) scheme of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology.
Agnesti Cahya Diartyani, as the group leader, explained that the activities carried out by the team were part of the implementation of knowledge while studying on campus. "We have gained knowledge in the MSME and entrepreneurship management course, which of course will help in the process of managing Patilo crackers by using various concepts, business strategies, and SWOT analysis," she said. In addition, other fields of science such as basic chemistry, basic biology, and culinary engineering are the basis for developing a more hygienic patio, healthy, durable, and has excellent taste. To help with management and marketing, the team leveraged knowledge from the digital transformation course. The team also provided assistance with a dough kneading machine and a Patilo cracker printing machine.
"The training we hold includes product production, product quality development, product diversification, and the use of production machine tools," said Andita Septianing Wahdani, one of the team members. In addition, there will also be training on marketing management and MSME publications on e-commerce. The team also planned to develop a web page for the MSME in Tepus that linked to the official Tepus Government web page and social media of Tepus youth organization. The team also assist Tepus MSME in account creation, discussion of promotional strategies, attractive product offerings, and routine management of social media systems.
