By: Ahmad Adnan*)
The Aneuk Muda Aceh Excellent and Great (AMANAH) program is a catalyst for the birth of new businesses in Veranda of Mecca with a strategy of developing local regional products and even becoming famous internationally as an export material.
The development of local Acehnese products is a very positive thing, because basically Rencong Country also has several products with quality that is in no way inferior when compared to other world-class materials.
However, to further support the development of the regional economy in Aceh, it is also important to have a new business pattern or strategy, where all of these things can be implemented much more optimally through training or mentoring the younger generation in the AMANAH program.
It cannot be denied that Aceh is very famous because of its Gayo coffee which is worldwide. In fact, the coffee commodity from the province nicknamed Tanah Rencong is not only able to be processed into various types of drinks, but now it can also be processed into one of the mainstay aromas of perfume products.
Perfume products that use the aroma of coffee as their mainstay come from Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), which will progress and develop if they receive full support from the young generation of Aceh.
Because of its extraordinary potential, young people in the Veranda of Mecca should be able to take advantage of the potential for patchouli there through various types of development, one of which is as a coffee-flavored perfume.
If you want to promote local culture and products that are authentic from the region, then several product choices need to continue to be developed, such as patchouli and coffee.
Because if these young people are able to have a social mission to continue to develop the resources in Aceh, it is certainly not impossible that they will be able to further improve the economy and make Rencong Country proud and even penetrate the global market.
When even one young person is willing and proven to be able to carry out entrepreneurial activities by continuing to bring local Acehnese products and culture to the world, then it is possible that the footsteps of the nation’s next generation will also be followed by their peers.
Of course, all of these things should receive enormous support from various parties. As one of the parties that fully supports the young generation of Aceh so that they are able to develop and be independent, the State Intelligence Agency of the Republic of Indonesia (BIN RI) then initiated the Aneuk Muda Aceh Excellent and Great (AMANAH) program.
In an effort to realize the development of local Acehnese products, BIN is implementing the AMANAH Program which also collaborates with several other related parties such as the Atsiri Research Center-Center of Excellence for Science and Technology (ARC-PUIPT) Aceh Patchouli, Syiah Kuala University (USK) to empower the local millennial generation.
Empowering the next generation of young people aims to further develop a creative economy based on local products, namely Aceh patchouli oil. Of course, there is no reason why this product continues to be developed, because so far patchouli itself has become one of the nine leading commodities in Rencong Country with high economic value.
The high economic value of Aceh patchouli is because this local product is also an export commodity and raw material for various industrial and international products. So it is clear that local products are expected to be able to drive the economy through the younger generation.
The form of effort to empower youth by the State Intelligence Agency of the Republic of Indonesia (BIN RI) through the Aneuk Muda Aceh Unggul dan Besar (AMANAH) program is training through four products from patchouli derivatives such as perfume, body butter, pomade and body wash soap.
The Head of the Aceh Industry and Trade Service who is also the Chair of AMANAH, Muhammad Tanwier, explained that training to process patchouli derivative products for the younger generation is a concrete form of effort to advance the Aceh patchouli industry.
Meanwhile, the Chancellor of Syiah Kuala University (USK) Prof. Marwan gave very high appreciation to the ongoing AMANAH program by BIN and several other parties because they had provided very useful training.
The training in the Aneuk Muda Aceh Excellent and Great program will enable the youth there to be able to develop more and even be able to develop patchouli oil-based start-ups or start-ups more advanced so that they can add value to the local economic movement in Rencong Country.
Efforts to create superior and great young Acehnese human resources (HR), including in terms of research and innovation, clearly continue to be dedicated only to the progress of society itself.
Local products from Tanah Rencong must continue to be developed to the maximum with shared enthusiasm. In this regard, BIN is intensifying the AMANAH program which is able to become a catalyst for the birth of many new businesses in Aceh based on local products which are processed into many other useful derivative products, thereby boosting the creative economy.
*) The author is a student at STAIN Teungku Dirundeng Meulaboh
