UMM Students Make Special Masks For The Deaf From Straw Waste

ILLUSTRATION/UNSPLASH

MALANG - Four students from the University of Muhammadiyah Malang (UMM) made special masks for the deaf using straw waste as raw materials.

According to a member of the mask-making team, Habibah Alifatus Syaidah in Malang, East Java, the selection of the basic material for straw waste is aimed at reducing plastic waste that is often encountered.

"This is one of our joint efforts to continue to protect the environment and reduce the use of plastic waste. This straw waste is the basic material for mask straps," he said, quoted by Antara, Monday, July 26.

He admitted that the use of masks in every activity is a must in the current pandemic situation to prevent the spread of COVID-19. However, the use of masks makes it difficult for the deaf to communicate.

Seeing these problems, he continued, the team from across the study programs made an innovation of transparent masks as a solution.

Habibah said that apart from using straw waste, the see-through cloth masks they made consisted of two layers of masks. The first outer layer is like a regular mask containing a filter filter. The filter is required to be replaced every three days.

While the second layer inside is a transparent mask, so people can see the expressions and lip movements of the deaf and make it easier to communicate.

He explained that the idea for this mask originated from the entrepreneurship course they took at UMM. At that time, Habibah and his team created a business model for selling masks with unique designs. This uniqueness is the potential of the business model they built until finally registering it with the Entrepreneurship-Student Creativity Program (PKM-K), moreover, it is strengthened by the encouragement and motivation of entrepreneurship lecturers.

The PKM-K, which was worked on by Habibah Alifatus Syaidah, Aulia Amanda, Briliant Ghaustin Yoly Ala, and Annisa Firdaus Ramadhini, passed funding from the Directorate General of Higher Education (DIKTI) last May.

They are currently in the process of making masks and will be marketed online next week. The price of masks is pegged in the range of Rp. 35,000-Rp. 40,000. The price includes a mask, three filters and a mask strap.

“We will start the online marketing process next week. In our opinion, this price is quite affordable considering that buyers can get a complete package of masks," he said.

The student who was born in Kediri, East Java, hopes that the transparent masks can be an option to help the deaf communicate in the midst of a pandemic. He also wants this business to become a new business opportunity.

“Communication is one of the most important aspects of life. Therefore, with our innovation, we hope that it can provide broad benefits to the community, especially those who are deaf,” he said.