The Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, University of Indonesia (FMIPA UI) held community service activities through the program Terrakopi: Developing Coffee Waste-Based Terra Preta as a Solution for Urban Organic Farming which was held in the Dukuh Subdistrict, Kramat Jati, East Jakarta on November 28, 2021.
Dukuh Subdistrict was chosen as a pilot area for Terrakopi implementation due to its limited land area, suitable for urban agriculture. The Terrakopi team, consisting of Dr. Retno Lestari, M.Si., as the Chief Executive, was assisted by 10 students in collaboration with the Pandu Cendikia Foundation (YPC).
This activity, supported by the Directorate of Community Service and Empowerment at the University of Indonesia (DPPM UI), is expected to reduce coffee waste in urban areas. The team converts the coffee waste into a high-quality, environmentally friendly growing medium.
Terrakopi is a development of terra preta, a growing medium made from coffee waste and other ingredients, such as mushroom waste, cocopeat, manure, liquid fertilizer, and biometrics. Terrakopi can be used to grow vegetable, fruit, and nut seedlings. However, each seedling has its own unique Terrakopi composition to optimize the planting.
Terrakopi was created based on the high volume of coffee grounds waste generated in urban areas and the need for a growing medium capable of meeting the needs of organic farming in urban areas. Based on this problem, a formulation was created that could transform coffee grounds into something useful: a growing medium.
According to Dr. Retno, the use of coffee waste as a planting medium has great potential for urban communities in producing vegetable and fruit commodities.
The Dukuh Village community warmly welcomed this idea, as evidenced by the high level of enthusiasm shown in the series of activities. The Terrakopi series began with a socialization session on Terrakopi production to help the community better understand the process.
The series continued with demonstrations and experiments by the community mixing Terrakopi ingredients. Everyone expressed a keen curiosity about everything from making Terrakopi to planting vegetable seeds with it. It is hoped that Terrakopi will boost the economy of the Dukuh Subdistrict, East Jakarta.
"Residents were educated and gained experience through the Terrakopi event. Those who previously didn't understand the concept now have a better understanding of the composition and how to create a growing medium from coffee waste," said the Head of Neighborhood Association (RT) 04, Dukuh Village, East Jakarta. Each participant received basic necessities as a token of appreciation, along with a Terrakopi kit, so they could implement the knowledge gained.
