14 May 2022
DRIED FLOWER INNOVATION IN PENGOTAN VILLAGE
In order to revive the economy of the community in Pengotan Village, Bangli Regency, Bali Province, especially due to the Covid-19 pandemic, it is necessary to carry out an innovation program to solve these economic problems. The business most affected by the pandemic in Pengotan Village is the cut flower business, where one of the MSMEs engaged in this field is the Keboenku MSMEs. They experienced a very significant decline in turnover, which was caused by the wasting of 350 to 500 cut flower stems per day due to the absence of a buyer so that the cut flowers passed their selling period and had to be discarded.
The innovation carried out is innovation in the form of providing training to improve the creative economy of rural communities by optimizing the existing resources in Pengotan Village, namely dried flower innovation. Activities carried out include training activities to identify the types of cut flowers that can be dried, learning how to dry flowers and how to create new dry flower product creations such as flower bouquets, brooches, coasters, key chains, and other products. The training program was attended by Keboenku MSMEs employees and the Pengotan Village women’s group who were members of the PKK group.
The training was conducted offline, through 2 (two) methods, namely lecture and discussion methods, namely introducing the importance of dried flower innovation in the use of cut flowers and conveying the types of dry flower innovations that can be produced. The second is the practical method, namely by inviting participants to practice directly using machines in the flower drying process and produce new products with higher selling values. It is hoped that the training participants can continue the flower drying process and be more creative in producing products with the flower drying process. With such conditions, it will certainly have a positive impact on improving the economy of the Pengotan Village community in a sustainable manner.