Utilization of Organic Waste for Maggot Cultivation for Members of the Medana Village Women's Reading Club

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FORMOSA NEWS - Makassar - Lombok Women Transform Household Waste Into Gold Through Maggot Cultivation. Rural women in North Lombok Regency are leading a green revolution by converting household organic waste into high-value economic assets. A community service project conducted by researchers from Universitas Mataram in June 2025 demonstrated that Black Soldier Fly (BSF) maggot cultivation can successfully resolve village waste management issues while generating new streams of income. The initiative was led by Siti Nurmayanti, Dwi Putra Buana Sakti, Thatok Asmony, and Handry Sudiartha Athar from Universitas Mataram. Published in the Asian Journal of Community Services (AJCS) in 2026, the study underscores how active community empowerment at the household level can fast-track the transition toward a sustainable circular economy.

The Growing Crisis of Household Waste
As populations grow and consumption patterns shift, managing municipal waste has become one of Indonesia's most pressing environmental challenges. The household sector remains the largest contributor to national waste generation, with organic materials such as food scraps, vegetable residues, and fruit peels making up 50% to 70% of the total volume. In agricultural areas like Medana Village in the Tanjung District, the lack of proper disposal infrastructure often leaves residents with few choices. Most households traditionally resort to burning their garbage or dumping it in illegal piles. These practices carry severe multidimensional consequences. Burning organic waste releases harmful air pollutants, while open dumping creates foul odors and breeds disease vectors like rats and flies, risking outbreaks of diarrhea and cholera. Furthermore, when organic waste decomposes anaerobically in conventional landfills, it releases massive amounts of methane gas, a potent driver of global warming. To counter this environmental crisis, environmental scientists and policymakers are shifting away from the traditional, linear "collect-transport-dump" model. Instead, they are embracing a circular economy framework where waste is treated as a productive resource rather than an unwanted residue.

Empowering Local Communities Through Action Research
To establish a localized circular economy, the Universitas Mataram research team partnered with the Medana Village Women's Reading Club. Originally established as a local literacy forum, this community group consisting of housewives and young women has evolved into a strategic platform for rural women's empowerment. The researchers designed a participatory, hands-on program structured into six operational phases:

• Socialization: The team hosted Focus Group Discussions (FGDs), interactive lectures, and educational video screenings to build environmental literacy and illustrate the economic potential of organic waste.
  
• Practical Training: Shifting from theory to a "learning by doing" approach, the village women learned how to construct breeding containers, manage Black Soldier Fly egg seeding, and maintain ideal larval habitats.
  
• Technology Implementation: Participants received a starter kit consisting of cultivation bins, BSF eggs, and instructional guides to set up miniature maggot farms at home.
  
• Mentoring and Monitoring: The Universitas Mataram team conducted regular field visits and periodic consultations to help participants troubleshoot technical issues.
  
• Evaluation of Results: The team utilized pre-tests, post-tests, and feedback surveys to systematically measure knowledge retention and adoption rates.
  
• Program Sustainability: The final phase focused on organizing the participants into microenterprise units and linking them with local agricultural markets.
  

High Adoption Rates and Economic Rewards
The community-based program yielded immediate, measurable success among its 20 active participants. Evaluation data revealed that prior to the intervention, the majority of the women possessed no technical knowledge of sustainable waste management or maggot farming. Following the training, 90% of the participants successfully demonstrated the skills required to build cultivation bins and prepare larval media independently. Ultimately, 75% of the reading club members successfully integrated independent maggot cultivation into their daily household routines. This localized technology adoption resulted in a striking 50% to 60% reduction in the volume of household organic waste being burned or discarded into the environment. Beyond the environmental benefits, the project opened up lucrative business opportunities. The harvested larvae provide an affordable, protein-rich alternative for animal feed, fetching market prices between Rp15,000 and Rp20,000 per kilogram. Additionally, the nutrient-dense organic residue left behind by the larvae was successfully repurposed by residents as high-grade agricultural fertilizer.

Real-World Impact and Policy Implications
The findings demonstrate that decentralized waste management at the source level is both viable and highly effective when backed by structured community support. By turning waste into a reliable source of household income, the program fosters long-term environmental compliance and mitigates public health hazards. For policymakers and regional planners, this model offers a scalable blueprint to reduce municipal landfill pressures across Indonesia. Integrating rural women into environmental programs strengthens community networks and advances gender-inclusive sustainable development goals. To build on these results, the researchers recommend that village governments and private sectors step in to provide institutional backing and help form dedicated, maggot-based joint business units.

Author Profiles
Siti Nurmayanti is an academic and researcher at Universitas Mataram, specializing in community development, human resource development, and women's empowerment strategies.
Dwi Putra Buana Sakti is a faculty member at Universitas Mataram with expertise in organizational management and sustainable economic growth models.
Thatok Asmony is a senior researcher at Universitas Mataram focusing on strategic management, community empowerment, and social entrepreneurship.
Handry Sudiartha Athar is an expert at Universitas Mataram specializing in business development, economic welfare systems, and circular economies.

Source
Siti Nurmayanti, Dwi Putra Buana Sakti, Thatok Asmony, dan Handry Sudiartha Athar. Utilization of Organic Waste for Maggot Cultivation for Members of the Medana Village Women's Reading Club. Asian Journal of Community Services (AJCS). Vol. 5, No. 5 2026, Halaman 267-276.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.55927/ajcs.v5i5.25
URL: https://journalajcs.my.id/index.php/ajcs