Healthy Alternative, Babel State Polman Trains Bangka SMEs to Produce Non-Nicotine Cigarettes from Taro Leaves
Resource person from PT. Niaga Nusa Abadi (AAHOM), Trismas Tanuhardja, is giving a presentation regarding appropriate technological innovation in the production of non-nicotine cigarettes made from taro beneng leaves in front of workshop participants.
Bangka Belitung State Manufacturing Polytechnic (Polman Babel) lecturers innovate in developing appropriate technology through community service programs.
This activity carries out workshops and training for Small and Medium Enterprises (UKM) "Certain Success" in Bangka Regency, which are currently producing non-nicotine cigarettes made from taro beneng leaves.
In the program which was held on Saturday (12/10/2024) at the Polman Babel Joint Lecture Building, there were speakers from PT. Niaga Nusa Abadi (AAHOM), Trismas Tanuhardja, as well as the Head of Sungailiat Village and representatives of UKM "Certain Success" to share knowledge and experience in maximizing the potential of local products.
Taro beneng leaves, or what is known by the scientific name Xanthosoma sagittifolium, were chosen as the main ingredient in non-nicotine cigarettes because of their superiority as an alternative to tobacco.
The trend of non-nicotine cigarettes is increasingly popular with the public, especially by those who want to experience the sensation of smoking without the high health risks.
The Polman Babel lecturer service team consists of Robert Napitupulu, M.T., Dr. Parulian Silalahi, M.Pd., Yuli Dharta, M.T., and 10 students who actively played a role in this training.
With a spirit of collaboration, they hope to make a real contribution to increasing the production capacity of SMEs in Bangka Regency.
As team leader, Robert Napitupulu, M.T., said that this activity aims to introduce appropriate technological innovations that can improve the quality and productivity of local SME products.
"We hope that this product can compete in the market and become an attractive alternative for people who want to switch to non-nicotine products," he said.
Apart from that, Robert is optimistic that with the right technology and good marketing support, cigarettes made from taro beneng leaves will become Bangka Belitung's superior product.
He also mentioned that the team will continue to provide further assistance and training so that these SMEs are able to be independent in their production processes.
Meanwhile, Trismas Tanuhardja from PT. Niaga Nusa Abadi (AAHOM) provided his views on the great potential of this innovation.
According to him, the use of local, environmentally friendly raw materials will increasingly attract consumer interest.
"We believe that products like this can become a new trend in the future," said Trismas.
Trismas also emphasized the importance of innovation in every production process to create quality and competitive products.
"He hopes that the technology introduced in this training can increase the production capacity of "Certainly Successful" SMEs and expand their market," he said.
"The training participants from UKM "Certain Success", Arizal enthusiastically welcomed the material provided by the resource persons, stating that the knowledge they gained was very useful, especially in terms of production efficiency and marketing techniques for their products," he added.
Through this activity, Polman Babel can continue to collaborate with various parties to encourage the progress of local SMEs and strengthen the creative economy in Bangka Regency.
"We will continue to innovate and assist SMEs so that they can develop further and be able to compete," said Arizal.
