The Visual Communication Design (VCD) Student Association of Universitas Dian Nuswantoro (Udinus) successfully transformed Tuntang Village, Tuntang District, into a sustainable entrepreneurial village. Through the Student Organizational Capacity Building (PPKO) program, the team consisting of 15 students was led by Nabila Tauhidin Dimas Putri and supervised by Lusi Noviani, S.Ds., M.M.

The students were divided into several coordinators tasked to optimize the village's potential. One of the efforts made is to process a wild plant which was previously considered a weed, called water hyacinth into various interesting crafts with the concept of creativepreneurship. For about six months, the student association will educate Tuntang Village Residents through workshops to improve their skills.

Nabila explained that the students are not only assisted in the product processing and packaging process but also provided training on product marketing. The training covered how to take attractive product images to marketing strategies through social media and marketplaces.

"Our target in 2025 is to make Tuntang Village an independent village, and in 2026 this village is expected to be the pioneer village for entrepreneurs," said Nabila.

Tuntang Village was selected as the location of this program based on several factors, including the limited human resources and the existence of water hyacinth or Eceng Gondok which is locally considered a weed. "In fact, water hyacinth can be used to produce handicrafts. The program runs from June to October," Said Nabila

Previously, on June 22, 2024, the PPKO VCD association Team socialized this program to the local community of Tuntang Village. With the theme "Optimizing the Export Potential of Hyacinth (Eichornia Crassipes) with Creativepreneurship Towards Tuntang as a Sustainable Entrepreneurial Village." This team also managed to obtain funding from the Directorate General of Higher Education in Indonesia.

The supervisor of the Association, Lusi Noviani, S.Ds., MM, hopes that this program will not only provide financial benefits for the residents of Tuntang Village but also improve the quality of human resources in the village.

“Through the training and mentoring we provide, we hope that villagers can develop their skills and create value-added products. Thus, Tuntang Village can be an example for other villages in utilizing local potential for sustainable business opportunities," explained Lusi. (Udinus Public Relation/Alex. Photo: Doc. HMDKV)