Indonesia is a country rich in biodiversity (A Mega Biodiversity Country). It is known that as many as 9,600 species of medicinal plants and approximately 300 species are used as ingredients for traditional medicine by the traditional medicine industry. Therefore, the plant biodiversity in Indonesia is an asset and resource that must be maintained and managed so that it can become an ancestral heritage and benefit the community for health maintenance. One of the efforts to preserve medicinal plants is the development of a Family Medicine Garden or abbreviated as TOGA.
In order to introduce medicinal plants, the Community Service Team – Merdeka Learn Campus Merdeka (PkM-MBKM) Faculty of Biology UGM 2022, chaired by Rina Sri Kasiamdari, S.Si., Ph.D. and involving 2 students, namely Anthony Jovian Saputra and Yuana Nindi Astisa, carried out socialization activities related to TOGA on Saturday, May 29, 2022 from 09.00 to 11.30 WIB. This Community Service activity was carried out in Kepuh Kulon, RT 001, Wirokerten Village, Banguntapan District, Bantul Regency.
Dusun Kepuh Kulon RT 001 Wirokerten Village, Banguntapan District, Bantul Regency was chosen as the place for the implementation of the activity because the community has been able to take advantage of its potential in various activities including cultivating telang flowers, making melinjo chips, making paving blocks and others. In addition, Dusun Kepuh Kulon has a population structure with the majority of productive age ranging from 15-58 years old, and the majority having attended high school education (Wirokerten Village Monograph Data 2018). By doing so, it is hoped that some of these things will later be able to encourage the realization of optimizing the potential of family medicinal plants with economic value in Kepuh Kulon, Wirokerten Village, Banguntapan District, Bantul Regency
This socialization activity is one of a series of Community Service activities with the theme “Community Empowerment of Kepuh Kulon RT 001, Wirokerten, Banguntapan, Bantul by Utilizing Family Medicinal Plants with Economic Value”. However, previously coordinated with Mrs. Hj. Rachmawati as Head of Wirokerten Village and Mr. Sunartono as Hamlet of Kepuh Kulon which took place at the Wirokerten Village Hall, Banguntapan, Bantul (Wednesday, 6 April 2022). The meeting discussed the mechanism for implementing activities as well as an explanation of the potential in Wirokerten, especially the Kepuh Kulon Village.
The empowerment activity agenda began with the procurement of a survey of residents of Kepuh Kulon RT 001, Wirokerten Village, Bantul Regency with the aim of knowing the extent of the potential and knowledge of residents regarding Family Medicinal Plants (TOGA). The results of the survey are processed and presented in the form of data and used as the basis for making socialization materials that will be carried out on the agenda of the next activity.
The socialization activity was carried out on Sunday, May 29, 2022 at 09.00-11.00 and took place in the Joglo owned by one resident, and attended by 25 residents. This socialization activity began with remarks from Mrs. Rina Sri Kasiamdari, S.Si., Ph.D. as chairman of PkM-MBKM Faculty of Biology UGM, then continued with remarks by Mr. Zamzuri as Chair of RT 001 and Mr. Sunartono as Hamlet of Kepuh Kulon. The event continued with the delivery of socialization materials by students of the Faculty of Biology, namely Anthony Jovian Saputra and Yuana Nindi Astisa. The socialization materials presented included the background of the need for community participation in the development of Family Medicinal Plants (TOGA); Understanding, Benefits, and Objectives of TOGA in general; and Types of TOGA and how to use them for medicine and planting methods. This event was enlivened by the distribution of door prizes for residents who were interactive during the socialization event. The socialization activity aims to increase people’s knowledge about Family Medicinal Plants (TOGA), especially processing methods and planting methods.
The MBKM PkM activity in Kepuh Kulon RT 001 was continued with plant planting on Saturday, June 11, 2022. The symbolic planting of medicinal plants was carried out by the Head of RT followed by the distribution of medicinal plants to 55 residents of Kepuh Kulon RT 001 which included bay trees, kaffir lime trees, temulawak, turmeric, red lemongrass, green surrender and gotu kola as many as 185 plants. At the event, the distribution of medicinal plant booklets was also carried out as a guide for residents to optimize the use of medicinal plants in the family.