Panennews.com- Amidst the plummeting price of cassava harvests to Rp1,600 per kilogram and the threat of cyanide poisoning from piles of agricultural waste, Environmental Engineering expert and Director of LPPM University Trisakti , Prof. Dr. Ir. Astri Rinanti, MT, IPM., ASEAN Eng, explained the strategy for processing cassava peel waste in Ciambar Village, Sukabumi Regency, West Java.

Through the 2026 community service grant program, the academic team collaborated with the Ciambar Village Youth Organization to operate the “Briquette House,” which crushes recurrent toxins into high-value biobriquettes and maggot flour, capable of selling for between Rp40,000 and Rp100,000 per kilogram.

The following is an excerpt from a panennews interview with Prof. Dr. Ir. Astri Rinanti, MT, IPM., ASEAN Eng, Monday, September 28, 2026:

Background: University Trisakti designated Ciambar Village, Sukabumi Regency as a fostered area for the Community Service (Community Service) program.

Based on the Tridharma of Higher Education, the obligation to carry out community service prompted the University Trisakti and Community Service Institutee (LPPM) to designate Ciambar District as a designated area. This selection was based on the criteria of the community service grant being less than 200 kilometers away and Ciambar Village’s status as the largest cassava producer in the district. This district consists of six villages, and we focused on Ciambar Village because its agricultural waste issues are also included in the local Village Medium-Term Development Plan (RPJM).

What were the main problems related to agricultural commodities and waste faced by the people of Ciambar Village before this program?

Ciambar Village is the largest cassava producer in the district. Farmers frequently face two challenges: crop failure due to drought, and fluctuating cassava prices, which were once very low at just Rp 1,600 per kg. Furthermore, cassava peel waste is left to pile up unmanaged. My background is in environmental engineering, so we took the initiative to engage residents in addressing the cassava peel waste problem.

How dangerous are piles of cassava peel waste if left unattended in the environment?

Cassava peels contain cyanide, which is harmful to livestock if consumed directly. If waste is allowed to accumulate and is exposed to rainwater, it decomposes, producing toxic leachate. This leachate poisons the soil ecosystem and kills organisms within it, ultimately rendering the soil infertile.

How can technological solutions be applied to process this toxic waste into products with high economic value?

We implemented two processing innovations. First, we turned it into biobriquettes. Cassava peels are chopped, dried, charcoaled, ground into charcoal flour, then mixed with adhesive and molded into briquettes. This process eliminates the toxic properties, making the briquettes safe, and they can be sold for between Rp 40,000 and Rp 50,000 per kg. Second, we turned them into maggot feed. The chopped cassava peels are ground into flour to feed maggot larvae, and the cyanide breaks down naturally in the maggots’ digestive systems. The maggots are then dried into maggot flour, which sells for between Rp 90,000 and Rp 100,000 per kg.

How is operational management at the village level carried out to ensure that this production remains sustainable?

Through a Regional Development Community Service (Community Service) grant from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Science, and Technology, we provided a cassava peeling machine, oven, and flouring machine to replace the manual process of chopping cassava peels using machetes. Production, human resources, and marketing are managed directly by the youth of the Ciambar Village Youth Organization (Karang Taruna) based on the SOPs and organizational structure we assisted. The Ciambar Village Head even provided land at his house specifically for the construction of a “Briquette House” as a place for the operation and storage of the machines.

How is the local government’s support and future development plans for this program?

The Sukabumi Regency Government provided geographic and demographic data support, while the Ciambar District and Village were very active in mobilizing residents. Going forward, this program is planned to be replicated in five other villages in Ciambar District through a Pentahelix collaboration scheme with industry and the government to meet production machinery needs.

Source quoted from: https://www.panennews.com/berita/1683064987/tentang-khusus-dengan-direktur-LPPM-usakti-prof-astri-rinanti-strategi-teknik-lingkungan-ubah-limbah-cingkong-jadi-cuan