Youth and Sustainable Village

By: Reginiana

Still campaigning a topic on Sustainable Village, the Multiplication of Stube HEMAT in Bengkulu held a joint discussion in Taba Gemantung village, Merigi Sakti district, Central Bengkulu Regency (10/10/2021). With a theme on Sustainable village, the speaker of this session was a Bengkulu University student named Syintia Mardela Fitri, a member of the Central Bengkulu Student Association. She explained that a village is a group of residences and a group of agricultural areas. Meanwhile, youth/young generation/youth are those who have extraordinary enthusiasm. they are human resources for development both now and in the future, as potential future generations who will take over the previous generation.

How can villages have potency in the hands of youth? Yes, when youth are creative, innovative (able to create something new), able to compete, willing, able, and love their village. The village youth can develop many potencies, such as in the fields of agriculture, plantations, human resources, arts, tourism, culinary, and education. Youth has an important role in the development of their village, because if not youth, who else? If not now, then when? If we can, why should anyone else? Other villages can do it, we have to do more. In the material discussed, the speaker invited the 18 participants to discuss what would be done for the development of the village where they live.

Some of the answers are:

1. Develop the potency of human resources in the field of sports. Youth who have skills in volleyball and futsal will train the community to be able to play volleyball and futsal.
2. Develop the potency of the village in the field of education by making math tutoring for elementary school children and reading, writing, and arithmetic for early childhood.
3. Develop existing agricultural land by making flower plantations as attraction spots for the wider community.
4. Develop a village in the culinary field, considering that Taba Gemantung village is a good durian fruit producer. Youth initiate an innovation with durian fruit culinary.
5. Create a social media account that shows the village's activities and development, so that many know Taba Gemantung village by providing positive posts.

The activities went very well because the speaker and the participants carried out this activity enthusiastically. Many new things and important information were found which made the participants energized to develop the potencies of their beloved village.***