On Sunday, October 15th, 2023, the team of Merdeka Belajar Kampus Merdeka-Pengabdian kepada Masyarakat (MBKM-PkM) 2023 Faculty of Biology, Universitas Gadjah Mada, conducted another socialization activity for the residents in Pajangan, Wedomartani, Ngemplak, Sleman, Yogyakarta, regarding the production of liquid organic fertilizer (LOF) and eco-enzyme. This socialization was organized to encourage the community to manage organic waste into something beneficial, such as liquid organic fertilizer (LOF) and eco-enzyme. The speakers for this socialization were the MBKM-PkM 2023 team, consisting of five undergraduate students of Faculty of Biology, Unviersitas Gadjah Mada, class of 2020, they were Arba’ Ramadhani Artik, Arneta Yuvita, Ester Dewanti Yovita Wardani, Fadiah Sri Rahayu, and Zidni Meirizka Utami, under supervision Dr. Ardaning Nuriliani, S.Si., M.Kes. and the partner mentor Ms. Nurini Aru Sudarsi. The MBKM-PkM 2023 team conducted the socialization with the theme “Caring for the Earth Starts from Our Kitchen.” This theme included two main topics: liquid organic fertilizer and eco-enzyme. The first topic covered the importance of macro and micro nutrients for plants, the definition of organic and inorganic fertilizers, the differences between organic and inorganic fertilizers (chemical), the advantages and disadvantages of organic and inorganic fertilizers, the production process of liquid organic fertilizer, as well as its application. The second topic explained the concept of eco-enzyme, its advantages and disadvantages, its benefits, the production process of Eco-enzyme, as well as its application.
Effective management of organic waste is crucial at present, given the issues related to the limited space for waste disposal at the Piyungan Final Disposal Site in the Special Region of Yogyakarta. Producing liquid organic fertilizer (LOF) and eco-enzyme is one way to manage organic waste such as food scraps, vegetable waste, fruit waste, and leaves, turning them into something beneficial for the environment. Liquid organic fertilizer (LOF) can be used to nurture plants without worrying about chemical effects on them. Meanwhile, eco-enzyme can serve not only as a fertilizer component but also as a detergent or cleanser and pest control for plants. The production of LOF and Eco-enzyme doesn’t require significant costs; it mainly relies on organic waste from the kitchen, water, molasses solution (brown sugar, palm sugar, coconut sugar), and EM4 solution.
This socialization received a positive response and enthusiasm from the residents of Pajangan Hamlet who actively participated in the discussion sessions with the speakers. It is hoped that the socialization by the MBKM-PkM 2023 team will raise awareness and engagement, particularly among the residents of Pajangan Hamlet, in environmentally friendly practices by managing kitchen and organic waste and turning them into something useful for the environment. (SDGs 3).