Balikpapan — Students of Institut Teknologi Kalimantan (ITK) have initiated a Social Innovation program in Kampung Bungas (Bunga, Buah, dan Sayur), Gunung Sari Ilir Subdistrict, Balikpapan City. The program is designed to strengthen the village’s environmental potential, community creativity, and technology-based village management in support of Kampung Bungas’ development into a sustainable thematic village.

Kampung Bungas is known for developing a learning tourism concept by utilizing limited land through urban farming, hydroponics, and waste management. These potentials provide an important foundation for the community to continue developing a productive environment with educational and economic value.

However, several challenges remain, particularly in terms of management regeneration, inorganic waste processing, and the utilization of technology and digital media. Village activities are still largely driven by the senior generation, while youth involvement in management and innovation needs to be strengthened. In addition, limited digital promotion has prevented the various potentials of Kampung Bungas from reaching a wider audience.

Through this Social Innovation program, ITK students are introducing various activities that combine community empowerment, creativity, environmental management, and digitalization. One of the activities is an upcycling workshop that transforms non-organic waste, particularly plastic bottles, into functional and decorative products such as plant pots and vertical gardens.

In addition, residents and children will receive education on waste sorting through creative activities. Participants can utilize plastic bottle caps, used packaging, CDs, and other materials to create mosaic artworks. These activities are expected to foster environmental awareness while developing creativity from an early age.

Strengthening digital skills is also an important component of the program. Youth in Kampung Bungas will receive training in copywriting, storytelling, social media design, photography, and videography using accessible devices such as smartphones. These skills are expected to support the promotion of activities, MSME products, and various potentials of Kampung Bungas through social media.

During implementation, technologies such as Canva, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, Google Workspace, Google My Maps, and Geographic Information System (GIS) are also utilized. These technologies support the development of visual identity, digital content management, activity documentation, and mapping of village potentials, including waste banks, public facilities, local plants, and other assets.

The program involves various community groups, including community leaders, village administrators, Women Farmers Groups (KWT), youth, and children. The community is not merely a beneficiary but also plays an active role in the planning, implementation, and sustainability of the program. One of the main focuses is the establishment of the Kampung Bungas Creative Team as a platform for regeneration and a driving force for digital media management and village development.

The program is carried out by ITK students from Urban and Regional Planning (PWK), Informatics, and Visual Communication Design (DKV), with the following team members:

1. Aisyah Putri Kamilah — PWK 
2. Muhammad Rosyid — PWK 
3. Alfitriani Puji Rahayu — PWK 
4. Yoga Maulana — PWK 
5. Shasa Nabila Purwita Rini — PWK 
6. Nur Auliyah Alfirah — PWK 
7. Amisha Nabila Wiguna — Informatics 
8. Maulida Rahmayanti — Informatics 
9. Risky Alfienda — Informatics 
10. Jihan Imelia Audhia — DKV 

Supervisors:

1. Dr. Eng. Ir. Arief Hidayat, S.T., M.S.P., M.T., IPM — PWK Lecturer 
2. Kaulika Anjani Putri, S.T., M.P.W.K. — PWK Lecturer 
3. Srirahadita Pamungkas, S.T., M.T. — PWK Lecturer 

The program is designed to run for four months, beginning with discussions with local youth, village mapping and data collection, website development, digital training, waste management education, recycling workshops, and simulations of independent management. These stages are expected to ensure that the knowledge and skills provided can continue to be applied by the community after the mentoring period ends.

Through this Social Innovation initiative, the various potentials of Kampung Bungas are expected to grow beyond the duration of the program and be managed independently and sustainably by the community. The establishment of the Kampung Bungas Creative Team is expected to serve as an initial step toward regenerating village managers, particularly among young people, ensuring the long-term sustainability of the program.

Moving forward, the program is expected to help Kampung Bungas become a more creative, independent, environmentally friendly, and technology-adaptive thematic village. The collaboration between ITK students and the community is also expected to continue beyond the program, developing into a long-term partnership that creates positive impacts on the environment, creative economy, and community life in Kampung Bungas.