Empowering 879 Women, The Earth Kartini GIS Program Turns Cattle Waste Into A Source Of Community Economic Improvement

Photo: Doc. Cement Indonesia Group (SIG)

JAKARTA - The Bumi Kartini (Buah Manis Karya Wanita Tani) program run by PT Semen Gresik, which is a subsidiary of PT Semen Indonesia (Persero) Tbk (SIG), has had a positive impact on improving the welfare of the people in Ngampel Village, Blora, Central Java. Social innovation with a focus on empowering environmental-based women run with the Ngampel Village Government has helped 879 members of the Bumi Kartini group improve the family's economy while keeping the environment sustainable.

Due to the social conditions of the people in Ngampel Village, especially women who have economic limitations, the Bumi Kartini Program not only encourages women's economic empowerment, but also encourages improvement in environmental quality considering that some people are still used to disposing of waste and cow waste to the Lusi River Subsidiaries so that the water is not suitable for use. In fact, the Lusi River Children are still the main source of water supply for daily needs.

In 2021, PT Semen Gresik will launch the Bumi Kartini program which focuses on three main activities, namely the planting movement in the yard of the house and the management of cow waste into organic fertilizer and the establishment of a waste bank in collaboration with the local BUMDes and PKK (Family Welfare and Welfare). The Coordinator of Bumi Kartini who is also the Chair of the Ngampel Village PKK, Zarotainin appreciated PT Semen Gresik's concern for Ngampel Village, which is one of the Ring 1 Company villages.

In the past, how do you want to plant vegetables, the soil is arid and contains lime, fertilizer is also difficult. Even though the residents' yard is quite large. Alhamdulillah, there is assistance from PT Semen Gresik so that we can start with the provision of land, planting media, seeds and fertilizers. With the assistance of PT Semen Gresik as well, we train residents to grow vegetables in pots, polybags, and used tires. The yard of residents who used to be unemployed is now more productive and even become a source of income," said Rumahus Zaroatin.

Zahroatin also recounted the condition of the Lusi River tributary which was polluted by cow droppings.

There are many residents who are cattle. The dirt is dumped into the Lusi River tributaries and waterways. This makes the water polluted, causing smell and methane gas. After coordinating with PT Semen Gresik, BUMDes and Posyantek, the accumulated cow's impurities and urine can be processed into compost and biourin that is more environmentally friendly," said Zaroatin.

According to Viktius Zaroatin, the compost and biourin processed from cow's impurities are used to fertilize residents' crops and sell them to other areas. From this, the idea was sparked to integrate planting activities at home by managing cow's waste into organic fertilizer, as well as village waste banks into an integrated program, namely Bumi Kartini.

"Thank you PT Semen Gresik for providing extraordinary assistance and assistance from 2020 until now, never being released. Hopefully this collaboration will be closer and stronger incomparable to Semen Gresik, so that it can provide mutual benefits," hoped Zahroatin.

GIS Corporate Secretary, Vita Mahreyni in her statement, Wednesday, July 23, said that Bumi Kartini is a form of Company's concern for social and environmental problems in the area around the operational area. With the application of circular economic principles, SIG strengthens women's empowerment programs by improving environmental management capabilities and skills while improving better quality of life.

Currently, Bumi Kartini has 879 female members. Vegetables produced averaged 1,405 kilograms (kg) per month from a total of 9,324 hectares (ha) in the yard of residents' houses, including cauli, cauli, terong, markisa, kale, carrots, long beans, beans, pakcoy, lettuce, mustard, and bitter melon. In addition to being consumed by yourself, the harvest is also marketed directly and in the form of derivative products such as terong pepper, kripik pare, kripik terong, and markisaferreluk.

In addition to successfully overcoming pollution through the management of cow waste, village waste banks play a role in collecting and managing inorganic waste by type, including waste that can be used as alternative fuel for cement production.

In 2024, Bumi Kartini recorded a decrease in the incidence of cow waste as much as 98.2 tons and prevented methane gas emissions of 1.64 tons equivalent to carbondiochisda (CO2 eq) per year. In the economic aspect, Bumi Kartini increased the average income of its group members to reach Rp6,480,000 per year, and increased the income of members of the livestock group to Rp4,800,000 per year. In addition, it also saves the cost of vegetable spending per family up to Rp13,185,000 per year, and savings in fertilizer spending of Rp4,340,000 per family per year.

The Bumi Kartini program has proven successful in overcoming the social and environmental problems faced by the Ngampel Village community because it was developed with the principle of empowerment for problem solving. Thanks to the success of this program, environmental damage caused by waste and waste can be overcome, it can even create economic benefits for the community. GIS together with all business entities, are committed to continuing to focus on providing social innovation and the environment and providing sustainable benefits," said Vita Mahreyni.