Digital Marketplace Assistance for Gen-Z Community in Commercializing Rumbia Frond Handicrafts: A Community Empowerment Model in Coastal Tanjungbalai
Keywords:
community empowerment, e-commerce, youth entrepreneurship, digital literacy, handicraftsAbstract
This community service project aims to enhance the economic independence of Generation Z youth in coastal Tanjungbalai through digital-based commercialization of rumbia frond handicrafts. Despite the abundance of local natural resources, previous training programs only succeeded in developing production skills without significantly improving market access and sales performance. This program addressed the gap by providing structured mentoring in product packaging, branding, and e-commerce utilization. The method employed a participatory community empowerment approach involving 20 youth participants under the Youth Development Institute (YDI). The intervention consisted of two Focus Group Discussions (FGDs), two packaging workshops, and three e-commerce mentoring sessions, focusing on digital literacy and online marketplace integration. A Shopee-based store branded as Rumbia Art was developed as the primary sales platform.The results indicate significant improvements across several indicators: active participants increased from 5 to 20, market-ready products from 1 to 5, e-commerce accounts from 0 to 1, product listings from 0 to 5, and monthly sales from 0 to 2 transactions. Additionally, digital literacy scores improved from 2 to 4 on a 5-point scale. These findings demonstrate that integrating digital marketing strategies with local resource-based skills can effectively strengthen youth entrepreneurship capacity. This study highlights the importance of continuous mentoring and digital transformation in community empowerment programs, particularly in coastal and resource-rich areas
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