UMPSA and SWCorp Pahang collaborate to educate local community on compost production techniques using ‘Takakura’ method

PEKAN, 1 August 2024 – A total of 30 villagers around Pekan, Pahang, participated in the Compost Fertiliser Production Workshop from food waste at UMPSA Pekan, organised by the Faculty of Manufacturing and Mechatronics Engineering Technology (FTKPM), Universiti Malaysia Pahang Al-Sultan Abdullah (UMPSA) in collaboration with the Pahang Solid Waste Management and Public Cleansing Corporation (SWCorp).

Lecturer of FTKPM, who is also the programme director, Ts. Dr. Sarah Atifah Saruchi expressed her deepest appreciation to UMPSA for providing opportunities and supporting initiatives that benefit the local community.

“The workshop is fully sponsored by the UMPSA Centre for Industry and Community Network (ICoN) through the Social Innovation and Community Knowledge Transfer Grant (CDU230115).

“The workshop was kicked off with an introduction to SWCorp Malaysia’s role as the body responsible for managing solid waste and public cleanup in Malaysia.

“Participants were also given exposure to more environmentally friendly waste disposal methods through the concept of 3R (Recycle, Reuse, Reduce) and awareness of the importance of recycling food waste to be used as organic compost.

“The compost production method introduced in this workshop is the Takakura technique because the handling costs are lower and easy for the community to practice.

“This technique involves an enzyme fermentation process that uses four main ingredients, namely water, brown sugar, tempeh, and natural yoghurt,” she said.

She added that participants were also taught the technique of preparing a decomposing medium consisting of black soil, rice husk and enzymes to produce quality compost.

“Participants have the opportunity to be involved in hands-on training sessions.

“Participants were divided into several groups and given compost fertiliser manufacturing kits containing baskets, black soil, rice husks, jars and ingredients to make fertiliser enzymes.

“This allows them to continue the practice in their homes after the workshop.

“Organising this workshop is in line with SWCorp’s desire to foster awareness among the public about the importance of recycling food waste,” she said.

According to Ts. Dr. Sarah Atifah, this workshop also strengthened the relationship between the university and the local community, which made the university a medium for transferring the latest knowledge and technology.

“The use of organic compost is expected to reduce dependence on chemical fertilisers, thus saving costs in small-scale agricultural activities practised by the participants.

“The workshop is also designed to be easy to understand with a combination of theoretical and practical briefing sessions to ensure that each participant benefits fully from the programme,” she said.

The workshop was officiated by the Deputy Dean (Research and Graduate Studies), FTKPM, Ts. Dr. Ahmad Rosli Manaf.

Also present were Pahang SWCorp Assistant Director and Head of Pahang SWCorp Community Education Section, who was also a guest speaker, Ashraff Kaharudin.

The workshop was assisted by several FTKPM lecturers: Ts. Dr. Radhiyah Abd Aziz, Dr. Musfirah Abdul Hadi, Nor Imrah Yusoff and Siti Aishah Rusdan.

Also involved in the success of this workshop were FTKPM students as facilitators.

By: Muhammad Nasrullah Alias, Faculty Of Manufacturing And Mechatronics Engineering Technology (FTKPM)

Translation by: Dr.  Rozaimi  Abu  Samah, Faculty   of Chemical And Process Engineering Technology