East Lampung, 27 July 2026 – Institut Teknologi Sumatera (ITERA) through the Kuliah Kerja Nyata (KKN) Rekognisi Pengabdian kepada Masyarakat (PkM) program, the Food Technology Study Program Lecturers held a socialization and demonstration of cocoa processing into added-value chocolate in Pugung Raharjo Village, Sekampung Udik District, East Lampung Regency. This activity, which was held at the Pugung Raharjo Village Hall, became one of the efforts to encourage the downstreaming of cocoa commodities and at the same time strengthen local economic potential based on village resources.
This program aims to improve community capacity in processing cocoa harvest results that in general have been marketed in the form of raw beans with relatively low economic value. Through processing into chocolate products, cocoa is expected to have a higher added value and therefore be able to open new business opportunities and increase farmers’ income.
In the activity, the KKN Rekognisi ITERA Team provided material on the stages of cocoa processing into chocolate, starting from the fermentation process, drying, roasting (roasting), cocoa bean refining (conching), tempering, molding, to packaging and product marketing strategies. Participants also took part in a direct chocolate-making demonstration so that they could understand the production process practically and had the opportunity to develop it into a home-scale business or farmer group.
This activity was attended by the officials of Sekampung Udik District, the government of Pugung Raharjo Village, the Hutan Farmers Group (KTH), the PKK Driving Team, as well as local cocoa farmers. The participants’ enthusiasm was quite high throughout the activity, recalling that cocoa is one of the superior commodities that has great potential to be developed into processed products with higher economic value.
The head of Pugung Raharjo Village, Esmoyo, welcomed the implementation of the activity. He hoped that similar assistance programs could continue and be carried out so that they were able to produce village-specific superior products.
“Our hope is that this activity can continue to be sustainable so that the village farmers’ group can develop the distinctive chocolate product of Pugung Raharjo Village. Hopefully, this cocoa processing can become a business opportunity that increases the selling value of the harvest and community welfare,” Esmoyo said.
Through the KKN Rekognisi PkM, ITERA continues to strengthen its role as Impact Campus by presenting innovations based on science and technology that address community needs. The synergy between universities, local governments, and community groups is expected to be able to accelerate the downstreaming of agricultural products and encourage the birth of village superior products that are competitive and sustainable.
