Pemberdayaan Masyarakat Desa Gamlamo Melalui Pelatihan Pembuatan Spray Anti Nyamuk Alami Berbahan Dasar Buah Pala

Abstract

Gamlamo Urban Village (Kelurahan Gamlamo) possesses abundant nutmeg (Myristica fragrans) resources; however, their utilization remains confined to the sale of raw commodities, namely dried seeds and mace, which yield low and volatile market returns. The community lacks the requisite knowledge and technical skills to process nutmeg into value-added derivative products. Meanwhile, synthetic chemical-based mosquito repellents continue to dominate the market and may pose risks to human health and environmental sustainability. This community service program aimed to enhance the community’s knowledge and skills in processing nutmeg fruit into a natural mosquito repellent spray that is safe, environmentally friendly, and economically viable, thereby fostering economic self-reliance grounded in local potential. The program was implemented through a participatory approach comprising outreach activities, training delivered via interactive lectures and discussions, and direct hands-on practice in product development. The practical stages encompassed raw material preparation, simple extraction, formulation and mixing, bottle filling, and labeling. Participants were additionally mentored in packaging, product branding, production cost analysis, and fundamental marketing strategies, including the utilization of digital media. Evaluation was conducted through observation, focused discussion, and question-and-answer sessions. The program engaged 15 participants over a period. The findings indicated an improvement in participants’ understanding of nutmeg valorization into value-added products, and all participants were able to independently produce the natural mosquito repellent spray in accordance with the formulation introduced. Participants also demonstrated strong enthusiasm and intended to develop the product as a home-based enterprise. The program outputs comprised enhanced community knowledge and skills, product prototypes, documentation, media publications, and institutional collaboration with the village government. These findings suggest that practice-based training combined with participatory mentoring is effective in building entrepreneurial competencies and supporting the downstreaming of nutmeg commodities at the community level