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| Boy (Batik) in nature tourism as a result of his initiative to empower the community. (Photo: Istimewah) |
In creating a prosperous society, various significant developments are needed in the educational, social, and economic fields. The same thing was also done by one of the Faculty of Islamic Religion (FAI) lecturers, Universitas Muhammadiyah Malang (UMM) Pradana Boy ZTF, S.Ag., MA. P.hD. He is currently developing Banjar Sekar Flower Park tourism in Mencorek Hamlet, Sendangharjo Village, Lamongan. He has pioneered this flower garden since early 2021.
As he is usually called, Boy explained that agriculture in Mencorek Hamlet was deemed not very developed and very conventional. People don't care about profit or loss because they have no other work other than farming. This makes Boy take the initiative to pioneer and run nature tourism by empowering the local hamlet community.
"That way, residents around the park have a choice of other jobs that they can do to meet their daily needs," he said.
At the beginning of the pioneering, still built the park with a makeshift concept. Over time, some of Boy's family who lives near the site also helped by planting several flowers. One of them is various types of sunflowers grown in an area of 1500 square meters. At this time, the flowers are starting to bloom and attract people to enjoy them. For only 5000 rupiahs, visitors can see flower collections and take selfies with relatives or family.
Boy said that some must face several obstacles during the development of this flower garden. Some sunflower variants are planted, not growing. The age of the flower is also not so long, so there must be a variety of flowers provided during the growing season. There are also sociological obstacles, namely sarcasm and ridicule from society. However, Boy did not heed it and was sure the idea he realized would work.
"I just smiled when I heard the ridicule because this park has not been pioneered for a long time. Still in the pioneering stage and looking for the ideal form. After all, realizing the idea is not something easy. Even though I was ridiculed, I have won two steps: having an idea and realizing an idea. But despite all these obstacles, I am optimistic that this will succeed, God willing," he said.
The man from Mencorek, Lamongan, hopes that this Banjarsekar flower garden can become a prototype for environmental tourism in Mencorek Hamlet, Lamongan Regency. Besides that, it can also be a place for learning and explanation regarding types of flowers. It may even be developed into a flower research center.
"I think this flower garden is also a place for economic empowerment for the Mencorek hamlet community. We plan to upgrade and equip it to become a flower nursery center. That way, visitors can also bring gifts that who can plant at home," he concluded. (apg/haq/wil)
