Anjani's Journey to Move the Astra Prosperous Village (DSA) Bumiaji Through Work and Creativity

A small village called Bumiaji on the slopes of the Arjuno-Welirang Mountains in Batu, East Java, teaches that heritage isn't just about wealth, but can also take the form of a culture that holds many stories.

Bumiaji is included in the Astra Prosperous Village (DSA) list, known as an apple center and a hub of community creativity, strengthened by the local bantengan culture.

DSA is one of Astra's sustainable social contribution programs that aims to develop a village's economic potential through community empowerment and the development of superior village products. This program focuses on improving the quality of life of village communities through various activities such as training, business mentoring, and the provision of production facilities. The goal is to encourage villages in Indonesia to become independent, empowered, and advanced.

Regarding DSA, let's meet Anjani Sekar Arum. She is one of the recipients of the 2017 Semangat Astra Terpadu Untuk (SATU) Indonesia Awards in the field of entrepreneurship. She is believed to be one of the driving forces behind DSA in Bumiaji Village through her bantengan batik creations and the Omah Pembatik Cilik (Little Batik House) she founded. Batik Tulis Banteng Agung is a work of art created and successfully elevating the traditional Bantengan art form, a unique art form from Batu City, expressed in batik motifs.

Anjani mentors local mothers and children in her studio, free of charge, to learn batik. She also established the Little Batik Maker Educational Tourism Village in Yogyakarta. Not only does this provide a learning platform for children to hone their skills and creativity, but Anjani's initiative also encourages the community to preserve and disseminate their cultural heritage. To date, Anjani's Batik creations have been exhibited in international markets.

In addition to the richness of Bantengan's local culture, the people of Bumiaji also demonstrate their creativity by utilizing natural resources to create a variety of delicious, souvenir-worthy foods. These include apple chips, apple pies, and orange cake.

Astra Infra's passion to continue collaborating and empowering communities as reflected in the journey of Anjani and Bumiaji Village is in line with Astra's ideals to prosper together with the nation and support Indonesia's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which are also stated in the Astra 2030 Sustainability Aspirations.