UNAIR NEWS – Boyolangu Village, one of the largest banana producing villages in Banyuwangi regency, banana skin has been an issue. It is deemed as waste and should be disposed. But it can be useful if we can process it.
To take advantage of the skin, a team of students of Accounting Department Faculty of Economics and Business (FEB) PSDKU Universitas Airlangga in Banyuwangi, held a business training to process banana skin into economic value products as an effort to increase community income, for the women in PKK Boyolangu village, Banyuwangi Regency.
The students who devoted themselves to the community empowerment were Tsania Ysnaini Mawardi (generation 2016, team leader), Dessy Rizky Putri (2016), Indah Oktavia Utami (2016), Tri Nur Afiyah Wulandari (2015), and Rosalinda Mattylda (2014).
According to Tsania Ysnaini, as the Head of Student Creativity Program (PKM-M) UNAIR Banyuwangi, the training has given a new skill to housewives and PKK members in Boyolangu Village to make fresh banana skin drink, banana chips, and other foods made of bananas.
“We initiated UMKM (Micro Small Medium Enterprises) and produce products to sustain the family. In addition, the banana skin waste problem is also taken care of with the production of food product which can make profit,” said Tsania.
In the village there are many banana trees deliberately planted along the rail opposite the residential area. Indirectly, it also makes the banana be the sub-main food for local residents. Even all the coffee shops provide food from bananas, such as fried bananas, sale and chips.
All this time, not many people know that bananas, the fruit, leaves, stems, heart, and skin, can be utilized. According to Basse (2000), the portion (volume) of banana skin is quite a lot, reaching one-third of the banana before the peeling. The nutritional content of banana skin is also quite complete, such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, calcium, phosphorus, iron, vitamin B, vitamin C and water. These nutritional elements can be used as a source of energy and antibodies to the human body.
PKMM ” Banana Skin(Banskin) Business” is here to provide business training. The goal is to change the mindset of partners who previously thought banana skin was a waste, but it could be made into a product. Another expected outcome is the formation of UMKM (Micro Small and Medium Enterprises) of the trained cadres.
From the pre-test conducted to the group of PKK members in Boyolangu Sub-district, almost all members of PKK do not work, just become housewives, and most of them only elementary school graduates. Even so, 50% of them have dreams to open a business in the future.
PKMM team conducts business training of Banskin Business 4 times. The team does not only teach how to process banana skin into a product of economic value, but also to teach about packaging, nutritional content, also licensing on UMKM in Banyuwangi Regency. The team also presented speakers from UMKM and Health Agency of Banyuwangi Regency. (*)
Editor: Bambang Bes
