Oyster mushroom cultivation in Bojong Koneng Village, Sentul, West Java since 2019 has been introduced by Dr. Retno Lestari, M.Sc., Lecturer of the Department of Biology, FMIPA UI through the innovative Mikoponik (2019) and MikoGrow (2020) programs. These activities are an effort to help residents increase the production of superior oyster mushrooms.
Oyster mushrooms have a high protein content so that mushroom chips are expected to be an alternative to fulfilling people’s protein needs.
Unfortunately, since Covid-19 hit Indonesia and peaked in 2020, the economic impact could not be avoided by mushroom farmers. The demand for oyster mushrooms by individual consumers and restaurant business groups as food ingredients has decreased by almost 50%.
With that background, this year, Dr. Retno Lestari, M. Si. and the team continued the program to help restore the economy of the Bjong Koneng village residents, precisely on Wednesday, August 11, 2021. Dr. Retno and the team were present in person at the Bumi Kepanduan Sentul Hall while still adhering to health protocols.
The presence of him and his team this time, not only socializes and invites the community to actively and creatively participate in oyster mushroom cultivation, but also focuses on the downstream development of various oyster mushroom processed products by directly training the participants who are dominated by mothers from Bojong Koneng village.
“Our presence again is to provide encouragement to residents affected economically by the ongoing pandemic, through training in creating various processed oyster mushroom products that they cultivate,” said Dr. Retno to the FMIPA UI public relations team.
There are three types of oyster mushroom-based food products that they are trying to develop, namely chips, risoles, and nuggets. Oyster mushroom chips are indeed quite popular among Indonesian people, because of their crunchy taste, affordable price, and easy-to-find oyster mushroom raw materials. On the producer side, this product is also very simple so that it can be produced by anyone.
“The texture of the mushroom chips is crispy, making this type of healthy food widely liked by people. The making is also very simple so that it is easy to make by housewives who live around the Mikoponik oyster mushroom cultivation center in Bojong Koneng village,” said the Student Affairs Manager of FMIPA UI.
However, Dr. Retno continued, residents must also develop other innovative products. She also trained residents to make risoles and nuggets from oyster mushrooms.
The community is not only given the provisions to make processed timar mushroom products with a high taste, but what is no less important is socialization regarding the introduction branding product and hygienic and attractive packaging. He and his team introduced the Bojong Koneng village mushroom chips product under the name MikoQu.
The name is taken from the name of the Microponics program which has been funded by a grant from the Higher Education Excellence Community Service Program (PPMUPT) funded by the Ministry of Research and Technology – National Research and Innovation Agency.
The team hopes that this mushroom business ecosystem can be more sustainable nationally and have a positive impact on the economy of Bojong Koneng residents.
One of the oyster mushroom managers in Bojong Koneng Village, Mr. Hadi, said that the program was an alternative amid the COVID-19 pandemic, when demand for fresh oyster mushrooms decreased by 43.7% because many restaurants, cafes, and hotels were not operating or limiting their operating hours during the PPKM period.
Yeni, as one of the mushroom chip producers, explained that the activities carried out were very beneficial for the village community and she hoped that they could provide additional income for the surrounding community.
