Bandung, Telkom University – To assist the marketing process of Mekarsari Village bamboo products, Telkom University students created an innovative product called Selaawi Smart Market (SMART) to facilitate craftsmen in Mekarsari Village to market their products directly to end-users. SMART also successfully entered the Top 150 in the Innovillage program.
SMART was developed by three Tel-U students, namely Aqila Zahra Qonita (Bachelor of Digital Public Relations); Fadhly Al-farizi (Bachelor of Informatics); and Rham Hadi Al-Fauzan (Bachelor of Digital Public Relations). SMART application development commenced in September 2022, with the three students supervised by the School of Communication and Business lecturer, Choiria Anggraini, M.I.Kom.
According to the team leader, Aqila Zahra Qonita, there are several main objectives for SMART. Firstly, it aims to reduce the economic gap between craftsmen and collectors. Secondly is to increase creativity in bamboo products to match current market demands. Lastly, to market bamboo handicraft products more widely online.
The development of the SMART website was conducted in about 2-3 weeks. During this time, the team coordinated with the partners in Selaawi Sub-district, Mekarsari Village and socialized with the craftsmen specifically to determine the problems being faced.
“Furthermore, as a result of the initial coordination, we prepared a proposal while continuously coordinated further with partners, accompanied by our supervisor to conduct reviews and ensure that the innovations provided meets with the required needs,” said Aqila.
As a supervisor, Choiria Anggraini, expected the implementation of SMART innovation products to be replicated in every village in Selaawi that has similar problems. Therefore, the benefits provided were not only obtained by Mekarsari village bamboo craftsmen, but also equally distributed in each village.
“We hope that SMART to enable craftsmen to market their products independently, thereby increasing their income and creativity in producing creative bamboo products that meet market demand,” said Choiria.
Author: Abdullah Adnan | Editor: Daris Maulana | Photo: Public Relations