Santri-Preneur: Enhancing Santri Skills in Producing High-Quality Goat Feed as an Effort to Strengthen the Economic Independence of Islamic Boarding Schools

Abstract

The transformation of Islamic boarding schools (pesantren) toward economic self-reliance requires the integration of life skills through the Santri-Preneur paradigm. This community engagement program aimed to enhance the vocational competencies of students at Bustanul Muta’allimat Islamic Boarding School, Blitar, in producing high-quality goat feed from locally available agricultural waste. The program employed the Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) approach combined with Experiential Learning through a structured scheme of education, training, and mentoring. The intervention was implemented using a composition of 30% theoretical instruction and 70% hands-on practice in silage production. The findings demonstrated comprehensive outcomes across cognitive, psychomotor, and product quality dimensions. Cognitively, participants’ understanding of feed production technology improved by 63.1%, with the average score increasing from 51.5 in the pre-test to 84.0 in the post-test. In the psychomotor domain, the students achieved an excellent competency level with an average score of 86.25, particularly in feed formulation accuracy and anaerobic packaging techniques. Furthermore, the resulting silage attained an organoleptic quality score of 93.12, characterized by an optimal fermentation aroma and the absence of fungal contamination. In conclusion, the integration of simple biotechnology with the utilization of locally available agricultural waste effectively fosters a self-sustaining economic ecosystem within the pesantren. The program equips students with relevant life skills while promoting sustainable modernization of livestock farming practices