By Lidia Dwijayanti Meike Ullo.          

I am Lidia Dwijayanti Meike Ullo, a student from Ndonbey village, Warmare, Manokwari, West Papua who is studying in the Indonesian Digital Technology University of Yogyakarta, Informatics study program. This article is the result of a long thought to have the courage to express my experiences in writing after I attended the Stube HEMAT Yogyakarta training on Social Entrepreneurship. As a young person I was encouraged to initiate a business venture to solve social problems.

Young people are the generation that can bring change, but it is in contradiction what actually happened in my village. Young people prefer to get married at an early age even though they are not yet working. At the end, they were forced to drop out of school because they got married. On the other hand, young people who returned from college in other cities did not make a difference, even though my region has various resources to open job opportunities. The reality is most people who work as farmers, entrepreneurs, or office workers, are mostly elder people. Even they are married, their parents still pay their living cost.

The young people in the Warmare district are skilled in handicrafts and agriculture, but they find that it is difficult to develop their talents because they do not know how to start. From this situation I am challenged to find a way out of this problem by taking steps, first, communicating directly, discussing and analyzing the potencies that exist with them. Next, in the field of crafts, they can make ‘noken’ or traditional Papuan bags, bamboo combs, traditional crowns, home ornaments, various accessories for necklaces, glasses, earrings, headbands, and other products.

From these findings, I have an idea to guide and assist them to collect the potencies to be processed into crafts that will be sold at reasonable prices. With a variety of creativity and local wisdom, the products have their uniqueness and advantages. I started to market them in various ways, such as through social media, markets, tourist attractions, friendship networks, and exhibitions. I work with local youth, institutions, people who care, business agents, and the government to support this activity so that the process of selling handicrafts becomes easier. In this way, the products are increasingly known by many people and there are more and more enthusiasts, as proved by the handicraft products being sold to Yogyakarta, Bekasi, Cirebon, and several other cities.

Through this process, when there are potential buyers, I offer it to the young people in Ndonbey who are ready to make it. Finished products will be entrusted to a friend who is going to Java, for example, Yogyakarta, and the products will be sent from Yogyakarta to the customer to reduce shipping costs. The increase number of buyers generates more income because the marketing target is not only for adults, but can be accepted by all groups from children, teenagers, youth, and public.

I do this not for personal gain but for the common good, especially to get young people out of unemployment in my village. In this way, I can create job opportunities, fill their spare time and produce worth-selling products. It is expected that with this small action, gradually the social problems in Ndonbey can be resolved and young people can be independent with their abilities. ***