BANDUNG, WEST JAVA — In the midst of green trees and fertile farmland, the sound of birds chirping through the cool Lembang air. On Friday, November 1, 2024, dozens of participants wearing green clothes with vests that read “MPZ Squad” arrived at Desa Tani, Dompet Dhuafa’s economic empowerment area.
They are the participants of Dompet Dhuafa’s Capacity Building MPZ (Zakat Management Partner) who came to get to know more closely the implementation and benefits of zakat, infaq, sadaqah, and waqf (Ziswaf) through economic empowerment programs in this village.
Arriving at Tani Village, the participants were welcomed by the Dompet Dhuafa Tani Village Agro-tourism Team. One of those who welcomed them was Dadan Khatiwa, or familiarly called Mang Dadan, Marketing Director of Desa Tani.
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The Desa Tani Agro-tourism program is part of the Agrinative Cooperative’s sub-business which aims to introduce and campaign for a fun way of farming through hands-on experience in the field.
“We want to invite everyone to experience the fun of farming,” said Mang Dadan.
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After receiving an explanation, the participants were then invited to explore the Farmers’ Village area. There were five posts that they visited, including the Seedling House, planting fields, Flower House, Greenhouse for cherry tomato harvesting, and Packing House.
“Agroeduwisata visitors can see firsthand the entire process carried out at the Farmer’s Village, starting from land cultivation, seeding, seeding, to feeling the sensation of harvesting,” said Mang Dadan.
In addition, visitors are also invited to learn about the land cultivation standards applied at Desa Tani, and experience every stage in agricultural production there.
Usually, participants who come to participate in Agroeduwisata activities are very diverse, ranging from kindergarten, elementary, junior high, high school, college students, to company employees, agricultural communities, and government agencies. Mang Dadan has even received a visit from Tembagapura District, Papua, who came to learn about agricultural management at Desa Tani.
The main message that Desa Tani always wants to convey to every visitor is the importance of food security. “Food is the source of life for the community, and this has been the case since the first human civilization emerged,” explains Mang Dadan.
He also shared his experience during the Covid-19 pandemic, where many sectors came to a halt, but farmers became the main pillar of food security. According to him, the potential of Indonesia is very large in the agricultural sector. So it is fitting that the people maximize that potential.
“The potential of our country is great in the agricultural sector. Why don’t we maximize that potential?” he said enthusiastically.
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The Agro-tourism program aims to change people’s views about farming, which according to Mang Dadan, is a very noble profession. He and all the administrators of Desa Tani also want to spread the spirit of farming to everyone while increasing the value and status of Indonesian farmers.
Mang Dadan himself became interested in agriculture in 2002, when he had just graduated from high school and was unable to continue his studies due to financial constraints. Supported by his family background as farmers, he decided to plunge into the world of agriculture and pursue the field of agricultural marketing.
“We want our children to be proud to be farmers’ children. The important thing is that they can appreciate and glorify the farming profession,” said Mang Dadan, who admitted that he did not force his three children to follow in his footsteps.
The Capacity Building activity entitled “Empowered in the Farming Village” was organized by Dompet Dhuafa for 40 participants from 14 Dompet Dhuafa Central MPZs, as well as 20 MPZs from Banten and West Java branches. The activity lasted for two days, from Thursday, October 31 to Friday, November 1, 2024. This program aims to increase the capacity of MPZ in designing and running economic empowerment programs, especially in the field of horticultural agriculture. (Dompet Dhuafa)
Text and photo: Riza Muthohar
Editor: Dhika