Kedungkandang, MC – There is no instant way to achieve success, everything requires effort and hard work. This is what can be learned from the experience of Sergeant Major Sri Purwanto, a member of Koramil 0833/02 Kedungkandang who is a Village Development Officer (Babinsa) of Lesanpuro Village, Kedungkandang.
In terms of agriculture, his experience has been honed since 1995, and now he often becomes a resource person on agriculture in various regions.
When met, Thursday (1/11), he said, in 1995 the East Java Provincial Government (Pemprov) held the Back to Village Movement (GKD). This is a city greening program so that cities remain green like villages, and one of the programs is hydroponic planting. "I was the implementer at Yonif 512 at that time. We made a pilot planting with polybags," he said while his gaze wandered remembering his past memories.
Since then until 2012, his unit still used chemical fertilizers to fertilize plants. However, because there were those who started to shift the use of chemical fertilizers to organic, he tried to experiment because since joining the TNI, he said that he also received material on making fertilizers. "Then, (in 2012) I founded an organic village in Wonokoyo Village, near my house," said the father of two children
The results of vegetable plants that grow well with organic fertilizer can now supply a number of markets in Malang City, and one of them has been successfully marketed in a well-known modern market in the area of Jl. Soekarno-Hatta, Malang City. However, with this success, Sri said that her ability to mix organic fertilizers is only mediocre.
She recounted, in 2015 Sri was sent for a training to improve the skills of Babinsa in the field of agriculture at the Rice Seed Center, Subang, West Java. For two weeks Sri gained knowledge from an agricultural expert named Prof. Nur Jaman. The material was about organic plant concoctions (rattan), organic livestock concoctions (roter), and organic pest concoctions (roma).
The three concoctions were created by the professor who is also a close friend of the Territorial Assistant (Aster) to the Chief of Staff of the Indonesian Army (Kasad) Major General TNI Widagdo Hendro Sukoco.
According to Sri, Prof. Nur Jaman is very knowledgeable about agriculture because he is an instructor and main speaker for organic plants at the TNI-AD Headquarters. It was from this professor that Sri admitted that she learned a lot about plants.
"Now I mix fruits, vegetables, rice flour, brown sugar, and coconut water. All of them are mixed together and I ferment them, making organic fertilizer that is ready to use," said the man born on January 23, 1970.
Well, because of his ability to mix fertilizer, he was then involved in the selection of thematic villages in Malang City in 2017.
As Babinsa of Lesanpuro Village, he initiated a village with an organic plant theme, namely an organic vegetable tourism village for agro-national defense goods in Lesanpuro.
"Horticulture and organic plants are also part of national defense. Now it is still in the development stage that is being continued. However, I have periodically carried out public education," he said.
As a result, the village was ranked sixth out of the top ten nominees for the 2017 Malang City thematic village.
Sri's name began to be known after her photo was uploaded on social media. facebook when she led a vegetable planting procession in her village in April 2017. At that time, Sri gave counseling to residents from the stage while holding a microphone in front of a large audience.
"When I uploaded it, Prof. Nur Jaman commented and asked what I was doing. I answered that I was giving a presentation about organic rattan and roma plants. He only replied with three thumbs up. Great and continue," he said while remembering that moment.
Unexpectedly, two weeks later the TNI-AD plant expert and extension worker provided his contact via a message on social media to be contacted immediately.
"I contacted the professor's number. It turned out that I was asked to be a speaker for the Babinsa counseling in Bogor. I was shocked and nervous. And of course I needed to think first," said the Babinsa who lives in Perum Pesona Buring Raya Wonokoyo.
However, Sri's doubts about whether or not to be a speaker disappeared when the order came from the center. Sri had to really go. Previously, she was only used to educating ordinary people such as PKK, farmers, students, and village officials. Sri also filled out her personal data which she sent to the center.
"I cried at that time. Hesitant and worried. My wife was also visiting my first child who was on official duty. Finally, I left my second child with a neighbor. I still chose to leave during the fasting month," said the man born in Pasuruan.
Before leaving, he said that he was called by the Dandim at that time, Lieutenant Colonel Arm Aprianko Suseno. "The Dandim patted my shoulder and gave me encouragement," he said again.
In the end, Sri became a speaker for horticultural extension for improving agricultural affairs for regional officials. Her audience was Territorial Pasi and Babinsa from all battalions. At first, Sri was nervous, because there were also participants whose ranks were higher than Sri, but in the end she managed to carry out her duties well.
Next, in August 2017, Sri was flown to the TNI-AD Territorial Education Center (Pusdikter) in Bandung. She was again the only horticultural plant speaker in the TNI-AD. For two weeks in Bandung, she provided material for personnel delegates from all non-apkowil battalions.
"There has never been one before. I am said to be the first since horticultural material was held in the training," he explained.
Even so, Sri still feels reluctant and afraid when giving material. "I'm not an academic. Yes, saying C sometimes becomes A, then becomes B, and so on. Saying that becomes that. Being laughed at by the participants," she said while laughing. (say/yon)
