Adaro growing with pesantren

Tanjung, S Kalimantan (ANTARA) - Pondok Pesantren (Islamic boarding school) is identical to a place to study religion. People commonly think that santri (the pesantren student), when finish studying, will become tahfiz (Alquran memorizer), ustadz, and ustadzah (Islamic studies teacher).


But nowadays, pesantren do not only focus on religious knowledge. This educational institution is also the basis for developing the community's potential. When leaving the pesantren, a santri master not only of religious knowledge but also capable of entrepreneurship.

One of the examples is the Al-Islam Islamic Boarding School of Agricultural Technology in Kambitin Village, Tabalong District, South Kalimantan. Together with PT Adaro Indonesia through the Adaro Santri Sejahtera Program or Adaro Prosperous Santri Program (PASS), this pesantren has developed various businesses, one of which is tilapia fish farming.

Initially, only 5,000 tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) seeds were cultivated in the first cycle. Then 15,000 in four ponds in the second cycle with a turnover target of IDR60 million.

The activity is managed directly by students (santri) who have just graduated from aliyah (high school) level and serve for pesantren.
 
To keep the business continuation, the pesantren has formed Board of Pesantren Business Management (BPUP) and received assistance from the Adaro through Adaro Bangun Negeri Foundation(YABN).

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Equipped with the knowledge he gained from the pesantren and mentoring from Adaro, the head of the pesantren working group Amin said he wanted to start cultivating tilapia at home. "With the knowledge of tilapia cultivation from pesantren I will try at home," said Amin.

Adaro itself hopes that the cultivation of tilapia in pesantren will increase the knowledge of santris. In addition, the PASS program can improve the economy of the pesantren and give birth to santripreneurs.

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