'Being Empowered to Empower' is the spirit of Stube HEMAT Yogyakarta to encourage students who are studying in Yogyakarta to have certain skills and to share the skills with people around them. Being equipped with some experiences gained from Stube HEMAT Yogyakarta, I am, Kresensia Risna Efrieno, shared the experience to others. Starting from practicing at Stube HEMAT, next I accompanied the women to make Catfish Floss at Wastini’s house, a resident of RT 08, Ngaliyan Village, Nglipar district, Gunungkidul Regency (Sunday, November 26, 2023). The network with the community was formed when I studied Campus Field  Study (KKN) in August 2023.

Gunungkidul itself is one of the districts in the Special Region of Yogyakarta (DIY) with the capital in Wonosari. Even though the name is 'Gunung or hill’, Gunungkidul is known as a barren area and often experiences drought, especially during the dry season. Most of the Gunungkidul area is hilly, but it has beaches as tourist attractions in the DIY region. Gunungkidul consists of 18 districts, one of which is Nglipar with the majority of the population are farmers and livestock raisers.

One of the potential fisheries in Ngaliyan Village is catfish done by residents using tarpaulin ponds. However, fewer people know how to process catfish into a new product that can become an alternative culinary delight. I started the activity by sharing my experience to make catfish floss at Stube HEMAT, as well as introducing institution that pays attention to community empowerment, conveyed by Trustha Rembaka, S.Th., the coordinator of Stube HEMAT Yogyakarta.

The women looked enthusiastic and curious, starting from preparing the spices, tools, and materials needed. In this practice, they used three catfish weighing 3,5 kgs. Starting with the process of steaming the catfish, followed by separating its meat from the bones and grinding the spices. Other participants seemed to be actively sharing their experiences of making meat floss. One shared about her process of making beef floss and one another revealed the benefits of catfish bones which can be processed into chips. While trying the taste of the fish mixture that has been mixed with spices, they tried to adjust the taste according to the desired taste.

The atmosphere became livelier when the frying process was completed and entered the draining process using a spinner. "Wow, the floss color is really shiny," said several participants who saw the catfish floss coming out of the spinner. Some of them immediately tasted and commented. "It tastes like real meat," said one participant who tasted it several times. Three catfish produced 1,2 kg of catfish floss and distributed to each participant. Through the process, they think about the sustainability of making catfish floss to become a culinary product that can be marketed. In the closing session, Trustha Rembaka gave an example of calculating the capital needed to make catfish floss.

It is hoped that making catfish floss will be the first step for women in Ngaliyan Village to continue marketing catfish floss as an alternative culinary delight to increase family income. Let us be proud to process local food and to be creative to market it. ***