PROGRAM IPTEKS BAGI MASYARAKAT PETANI GARAM DI PESISIR PANTAI SUWUNG BATAN KENDAL

Abstract

Petani garam di Pantai Suwung Batan Kendal adalah petani garam tradisional yang memproduksi garam dengan membersihkan dan mengkristalkan kembali garam tambang yang didatangkan dari Madura. Proses pembersihan dan pengkristalan dilakukan secara tradisional dan sangat sederhana sehinggatidakdilakukankontrolprosesproduksi dankontrol kualitas produk  yangdihasilkan. Dalam Program Ipteks Bagi Masyarakat (IbM) dilakukan perbaikan sistem produksi dengan mengendalikan beberapa faktor, seperti kualitas air yang digunakan, pelarutan dan penyaringan air garam jenuh, termasuk efisiensi penggunaan kayu bakar, serta pemanfaatan panas tungku dalam pengeringan produk garam jadi. Kualitas produk akhir diukur kandungan cemaran logam berat, cemaran mikroba, dan kadar air sehingga memenuhi standar baku produk garam yang aman dikonsumsi. Diversifikasi produk garam yang dihasilkan akan dibuat dengan memproduksi garam beryodium, garam meja, dan garam mandi. Produksi garam beryodium akan meningkatkan peluang pemasaran produk petani garam untuk dijual ke pasar tradisional. Produk garam meja akan dipasarkan ke restoran yang banyak dikembangkan di kawasan Bali Selatan, sedangkan garam mandi merupakan produk baru yang sangat potensial untuk dipasarkan ke perawatan kecantikan. Diharapkan dengan memastikan kualitas produk, efisiensi proses produksi, dan diversifikasi produk akan dapat meningkatkan pendapatan dan kesejahteraan petani garam di Pantai Suwung Batan Kendal.

The salt farmers of SuwungBatan Kendal Beach are traditional salt farmers who produce salt by cleaning and recrystallizing mine salt imported from Madura. The cleaning and crystallization process is done in a traditional way and is so simple, the production process and the quality control of the resulting product can not be controlled. In the IBM (IpteksBagiMasyarakat) Program there will be improvement of the production system by controlling for several factors, such as the quality of water used, the dissolution and filtration of saturated brine, including the efficiency of the use of firewood, and the utilization of furnace heat in drying the finished salt product. The quality of the final product is measured a heavy metal content, microbial, and water content so that it will meet the raw standard of salt products that are safe for consumption. Diversification of salt products produced will be made by producing iodized salt, table salt, and bath salt. The production of iodized salt will increase the marketing opportunities of salt farmers' products to be sold to traditional markets. Table salt products will be marketed to restaurants that are widely developed in the area of South Bali, while bath salt  is a new product that is very potential to be marketed to beauty care. It is expected that by ensuring product quality, efficiency of production process, and product diversification will be able to increase income and welfare of salt farmers in SuwungBatan Kendal Beach.