IPB University Landscape Architecture Introduces ‘Garden Tower’ to Kotabaru South Kalimantan Community

As part of the Impact Campus commitment, IPB University continues to present innovations that directly touch the needs of the community. This time, IPB University lecturers at the Department of Landscape Architecture held a community service by introducing the concept of ‘Garden Tower’ in Kotabaru Regency, South Kalimantan Province.

This garden tower program is expected to support the food security of the community in Kotabaru. This activity is aimed at SMKN 1 Kotabaru, SLB Kotabaru, and Correctional Institution (LP) Class II-A Kotabaru, in collaboration with PT Arutmin. 

Chairman of the Department of Landscape Architecture at IPB University, Dr Akhmad Arifin Hadi, explained that the garden tower is a conventional technology for cultivating vegetables in a vertical planting medium. The media is in the form of tarpaulin bags with a width of 50 cm and a height of 100 cm, two-inch pipes as irrigation channels, as well as husk charcoal, organic fertilizer, and humus soil in a ratio of 3:3:1.

“This technology has become one of the community service programs of the Department of Landscape Architecture of IPB University which has spread more than 400 garden tower units to the villages around the campus. On this occasion, the garden tower was first implemented outside the regency/city of Bogor,” he said.

During the planting period, said Dr Akhmad, representatives from schools/prison centers will show the development of vegetables every two weeks.

The event was attended by the Chairman of the Environmental Agency, Chairman of SMKN 1 Kotabaru, Chairman of SLB Kotabaru, Chairman of Correctional Facility, Tirawan Village Secretary, as well as teachers and students. 

In addition to introducing the garden tower to the community, the Campus Impact program in Kotabaru was also carried out by Evelyn Tissa, an IPB University student who is currently undergoing an internship at PT Arutmin. Evelyn designed one of the food court locations in Kotabaru’s fishing village.

“On this occasion, we also supervised student internship activities. This student internship activity has an impact on improving the economy of the fishing community in Kotabaru fishing village,” said Dr Akhmad. (*/Rz) (IAAS/Ard)