Pinogu is a village located in Pinogu District, Bone Bolango Regency, Gorontalo Province, Sulawesi. Pinogu Village is famous for its organic coffee which grows in upland forests and in the Enclave area of the Bogani Nani Wartabone National Park, so it does not rely on agricultural chemicals in the cultivation process.
Pinogu is one of the miniature images of Indonesia through food, energy and environmental sovereignty which is very supportive so that organic certification is needed in branding and improving the quality of superior coffee products.
Departing from this opportunity, the Doctoral team for the Thematic Community Service Program Universitas Brawijaya developed a superior product for Pinogu coffee. This innovation was developed by collaborating students from the Faculty of Agricultural Technology, Faculty of Administrative Sciences, Faculty of Cultural Studies, and Faculty of Social and Political Sciences UB, consisting of 9 students and 5 lecturers.
The team led by Dr. Ir. Bambang Susilo, M.Sc.Agr started this year’s activities with an organic certification seminar for the development of superior products. This activity was held in early August, with the Regent of Bone Bolango and representatives from the Bogani Nani Wartabone National Park.
“The DM UB KKN team focuses on the process of applying for organic Pinogu coffee certification. This activity has been started since 2020 for potential mapping, then continued with good agriculture practices training in 2021, and now we are forming an institution for this certification,” explained Rizki Putra Samudra, one of the team members. This certification, Rizki added, can help increase the economic value of Pinogu coffee as a regional superior product.
To support the coffee production process, the UB team together with the Regional Government of Bone Bolango this year will perfect the Hybrid Drying House which has been established since 2021. “The plan is to build a drying tray. This shelf has been designed in Malang, with materials purchased in Gorontalo and assembled in Pinogu. Because the drying process usually takes up to one week, depending on the weather,” added this student from the Faculty of Agricultural Technology.
Besides coffee, the DM UB team also looks at the potential of making organic shredded beef in Pinogu. “Because this cattle farm is located in a chemical-free area, the feed is guaranteed to be organic, and the cows are also organic meat. Even the information, Pinogu beef tastes like chocolate because it consumes chocolate that has failed to harvest,” he explained.
According to Dr. Ir.Bambang Susilo, M.Sc.Agr, Beef in Pinogu has a distinctive aroma, so it is very suitable if an innovation of processed organic beef will be developed to create a new innovation. “Pinogu District has abundant natural resources, ranging from food and energy. Besides that, having environmental energy sovereignty is renewable energy resources”, said the Vice Rector for Research and Innovation of UB.
This shredded beef, added Rizki, will be the first development of processed organic meat products in Indonesia. “Of course, this will add to the ranks of healthy processed foods in Indonesia. In developing this organic innovation, they cooperate with all stakeholders related to the implementation of this program to support the implementation of this activity,” he explained.
For now, the programs carried out by KKN-Thematic team apart from preparing organic certificates and making hybrid dryer houses are briefing on the Business Model Canvas (BMC) for Pinogu coffee, making layouts for the production of Pinogu coffee centers, and publishing stories about Pinogu coffee. In the future, the processed beef shredded development program will be continued with a matching fund scheme which will start in October 2022. (VQ/ Humas UB/ Trans. Iir)
