Social Entrepreneurship Pesantren-based to Support Rural

Development in the Era of Covid-19 Pandemic:

Case Study in District of Lebak, Banten Province, Indonesia

Helmy Faizi Bahrul Ulumi

and Muhammad Syafar

Department of Islamic Community Development, State Islamic University of Sultan Maulana Hasanuddin Banten,

Jalan Jenderal Sudirman No. 30 Serang City, Banten Province, Indonesia

Keywords: Social Capital, Social Enterprise, Pesantren, Community Development, Covid-19 Pandemic.

Abstract: The world development targets that were designed in the framework of the Sustainable Development Goals

(SDGs) in 2030 is a challenge for all global stakeholders. This article aims: 1) to identify social

entrepreneurship pesantren-based through social capital and local wisdom of community in District of

Lebak, 2) to identify the development of social entrepreneurship pesantren-based to support local economy

in the era of pandemic Covid-19, 3) to analyze of benefits of social entrepreneurship pesantren-based for

rural development in the era of pandemic Covid-19. The method used a qualitative method in order to

obtain a comprehensive understanding of all phenomena occurring in the study. The results of this study

showed that: 1) social entrepreneurship that has been developed by the pesantren and community focuses on

social capital and local wisdom of the community. 2) The impact of Covid-19 outbreak affected the local

economy, however pesantren as social enterprises can contribute to support economic resilience through

strengthening farmer groups. 3) Benefit of social entrepreneurship pesantren-based has an impact for socio-

economic community and accessibility dealing with economic enhancement and rural development.

Furthermore, enhancing social enterprise as the local institution is needed for improving social

entrepreneurship development that has contributed to the local economy.

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2958-1553

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3986-8969

1 INTRODUCTION

Poverty is a fundamental problem in world

development, especially in Indonesia as one of

developing countries. Poverty is defined as a

person's inability to meet his basic needs due to

inability to access or control economic resources

(Nur, 2014: 55). The inequality of socio-economic

development is one of the causes of poverty in

Indonesia, generally in rural communities. Law No.

6/2014 concerning Village as the basic national

policy to reduce poverty in rural level (Republic of

Indonesia 2014) which are the important aspect of

the government's policy agenda to reduce poverty

and equitable development between rural and urban

communities.

Law No. 6/2014 has provided opportunities for

the participation of stakeholders in rural

communities, including pesantren as the Islamic

educational institution which are mostly scattered in

rural areas. The existence of pesantren as a strategic

Islamic institution is one way to forge the rural

youth generation (Budiwiranto 2009), and they also

have contributed for developing the local economy

because the pesantren source of livelihood comes

from agricultural products in rural areas.

Sociologically, Dhofier (2014) stated that pesantren

not only describe the purpose of Islamic education,

but also but also to strengthen human values, such as

morality, spirituality, honesty of santri (Islamic

students).

Furthermore, the existence of pesantren aims to

foster the santri as a youth generation that has the

personality to strengthen their mindset, attitude and

real action for the improvement of socio-economic

capacity. However, it is rare to find pesantren in

rural areas that grow and develop independently

Ulumi, H. and Syafar, M.

Social Entrepreneurship Pesantren-based to Support Rural Development in the Era of Covid-19 Pandemic: Case Study in District of Lebak, Banten Province, Indonesia.

DOI: 10.5220/0010756300003112

In Proceedings of the 1st International Conference on Emerging Issues in Humanity Studies and Social Sciences (ICE-HUMS 2021), pages 649-659

ISBN: 978-989-758-604-0

649

which have the ability to develop sustainable

business scale, and the opportunity for santri to

obtain knowledge and skills according to business

are limited. Thus, Pesantren does not yet have

contributed for the improvement of santri capacities

regarding competitiveness on the job opportunity

and/or various fields of business sectors (Hudaefi et

al., 2019; Muttaqin, 2016).

The Ministry of Religion Affair of the Republic

of Indonesia (2016: 179) noted that the number of

Islamic boarding schools in 34 provinces was 28,961

units divided into 2 (two) categories, namely

traditional (15,057 units) and modern (13,904 units).

The traditional Pesantren are widespread in West

Java (40%), Banten (22%) and Central Java (20%).

Meanwhile, the modern Pesantren are widespread in

East Java (34%), West Java (23%), and Central Java

(12%). Generally, these locations of Pesantren are

scattered in rural areas which are reflecting

interactions with local communities, such as in

Banten province.

Pesantren in Banten are widespread in Lebak

district (31.96%) which is known as one of

underdeveloped regions in Indonesia. Statistic

Indonesia (2020) note that the Human Development

Index (HDI) of Lebak has the lowest HDI compared

to other districts in Banten, where in 2014 (62,03)

and increased in 2019 (63.88). This condition was

described that HDI aspects including economy,

education and social services in Lebak are relatively

low compared to other districts in Banten. Therefore,

Pesantren in Lebak have the opportunity to be able

to build cooperation with rural communities to

enhance economic development (Buresh 2003)

through social entrepreneurship to support new

business models that are useful for the community.

Social entrepreneurship as stated by Hulgård

(2010: 4) is the collaborative creation of a social

value between people and organizations that are

produced through economic activity by engaging

social innovations that usually imply their socio-

economic. Social entrepreneurship is designed

according to 4 (four) criteria, including: civil

society, innovation, social value, and economic

activity. The socio-economy is an economic activity

that supports the strength of the community itself

(the social sector) in terms of Pesantren as a node of

economic development for rural communities.

Hence, social entrepreneurship lies in the potential

for community socio-economic activities as one of

the drivers of economic growth and welfare

distribution.

Furthermore, collaboration in the form of

business development is oriented towards social

goals and does not prioritize for earning profits,

and/or profits are used for social interests. Thus,

with all community backgrounds from both rich and

poor peoples, they are able to work together to

develop their business under the management of the

Pesantren. Cases in Indonesia, several social

institutions already engaged in social

entrepreneurship activities in the form of economic

enterprise development. Syafar (2012: 12) explains

that the Peramu Foundation (Mustadh'afin

Empowerment) located in Bogor Regency has

conducted socio-economic empowerment activities

for poor households as participants in the Baytul

Ikhtiar Cooperative. They are assembled in business

groups and conduct microfinance programs through

the tanggung-renteng approach. This program is

similar to the Grameen Bank pattern by involvement

of women as program beneficiaries.

Furthermore, social entrepreneurship programs

were also conducted by Pesantren institutions.

Churiyah (2014) stated that Pesantren of Al-Azhar

Salafiyah located in Malang Regency conducted

institutional empowerment activities for its santri

where they are required to live in the community

around Pesantren for 2 (two) months. Furthermore,

they have obtained entrepreneurial knowledge and

skills, and they should be practiced in the

community according to local resources. This

ultimate goal of programs aimed to improve

independent human beings and its benefit for the

community. Thus,

santri can become facilitators in

strengthening the local economy to increase

productive business with the involvement of the

community. Meanwhile, Pesantren Al-Ittifaq in

Bandung has conducted social entrepreneurship

through agribusiness activities which involved their

santri (Mujiyo et al.,, 2017). Therefore, social

entrepreneurship development in Pesantren had

increased in the rural community to support the local

economy, and several village governments had

collaborated with Pesantren by involvement of

community to provide business assistance and

various training for their economic resilience,

especially in the era of COVID-19 pandemic.

The pandemic of COVID-19 has affected the

world economy, especially local communities in

rural areas. Task force COVID-19 of Indonesia

(March 31, 2021) announced that more than 1,5

million people have confirmed COVID-19 cases,

and around 40 thousand people have died of the

disease. Therefore, social entrepreneurship is the one

strategy to support the local economy in the

pandemic Covid-19 era. By combining aspects of

business and social perspectives with the

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650

involvement of pesantren as a social enterprise to

maintain sustainable rural development, this study is

important to enrich new opportunities related to

economic activities for rural communities in Lebak

District of Banten Province. For these reasons, this

study aimed: 1) to identify social entrepreneurship

Pesantren-based through social capital and local

wisdom of community; 2) to identify the

development of social entrepreneurship Pesantren-

based to support local economy in the era of

pandemic Covid-19, and; 3) to analyze of benefits of

social entrepreneurship Pesantren-based for rural

development in the era of pandemic Covid-19.

Based on explanations above, this study focused

on social entrepreneurship in supporting rural

development regarding the Law No. 6/2014

concerning Villages. The biggest challenge of

sustainable rural development to achieve national

development and SDGs 2030 are how these policies

can be implemented at field level. By analyzing and

investigating the problem, this article can contribute

for Pesantren as social enterprise and

recommendations through involvement of

community as well as to enforce the implementation

Law No. 6/2014 nationally by focusing on social

entrepreneurship. This will be beneficial not only for

Indonesia, but also for the world in achieving

economic recovery amid a pandemic situation.

2 METHOD

The method used in this study was a qualitative

approach. This method was used in order to obtain a

comprehensive understanding of all phenomena

occurring in the study site. Qualitative methods used

4 (four) approaches, i.e. local wisdom identification,

local economy activities, social mapping, and

identification of economic opportunities for social

entrepreneurship. This study is conducted by a case

study due to it involves an intensive and detailed

analysis (Bryman, 2008: 52). In the process of

research, the researchers built interactions with Kyai,

pesantren and the community to obtain relevant

information. The informant who was involved i.e.:

head of village, manager of pesantren, farmer

groups, and santri.

The study sites were located in 2 (two) villages

in Lebak District, i.e. Nurul Madany in Sipayung

Village, sub-District of Cipanas and Quthrotul Falah

in Sumurbandung Village, sub-District of Cikulur.

This study can be categorized as cross sectional,

Neuman (2003: 31) stated that in a cross-sectional

study, the researcher makes observations at one

time. The rationale of choosing these locations are as

follow: 1) the pesantren and villages represented the

dynamic relation between natural resources and

community in socio-cultural contexts; 2) Potentially,

these pesantren have contribution to support rural

development through social entrepreneurship; 3)

currently, these pesantren are have many productive

efforts that can be developed for small industrial

sector including home industry enterprises; 4) both

pesantren and community have potential

collaboration in natural resources (agriculture,

livestock, fisheries and forestry) as a source of

livelihood for rural communities.

The selection of informants in this study was

carried out selectively. In a qualitative study, the

selected informants need to have sufficient

information about the phenomena being studied so

that researchers can comprehensively understand the

phenomena that occur related to the social

entrepreneurship aspect. As stated by Neuman

(2003: 394) explains that the ideal informant has

characteristics, including: 1) Informants are totally

familiar with the relevant issues; 2) informants are

involved in the field research; 3) informants are

conducted in the research and can spend time with a

researcher. Thus, the selection of informants

determined in this study is that they are familiar with

the local socio-cultural conditions at the study site

and the people involved in social entrepreneurship

development. The selected informants are those who

are directly involved in the field, they work together

with researchers and provide relevant information

related to the development of social

entrepreneurship.

Furthermore, the analysis of data is used as an

inductive approach to identify various realities of

development social entrepreneurship on pesantren,

so that the analysis was clearer, more explicit. In

addition, in qualitative analysis is operationally

conducted in 3 (three) ways, including: 1) reduction

of data, the process of reducing and deciphering of

data into a complete and precise arrangement, 2)

presentation of data, the effort to produce and

present of data that can be detailed & described

clearly, and; 3) verification and conclusions, the

process of compiling information which is analyzed

systematically to obtain clear conclusions. Finally,

according to the characteristics of data and

information on study site, the techniques of data

collection i.e.: 1) interviews are the process to obtain

relevant information, including: in-depth interviews

and group interviews, 2) literature study has

conducted to obtain secondary data, including:

Village Profile, books, journal articles, and etc., and;

Social Entrepreneurship Pesantren-based to Support Rural Development in the Era of Covid-19 Pandemic: Case Study in District of Lebak,

Banten Province, Indonesia

651

3) documentations are to enrich information that was

obtained in interviews, such as photos.

3 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

3.1 Social Entrepreneurship

Pesantren-based through Social

Capital Approach

The landscape in the study site is characterized by a

rice field, plantation, river, and hills (mountain). The

study site, in Sumurbandung & Sipayung villages

possessed a wide area of natural resources but

limited human resources (see Figure 1). The farming

activities in the study site were also conducted

following the local wisdom rules. Limited access to

village economic development was also induced by

the poor road infrastructure at the villages. Most of

the community used paddy field products for the

family's subsistence need of food, while livestock

and fisheries were sold to fulfill the other living

needs (house, cloth, education and health). In

addition, there were two main livelihoods based on

commodities in the study site: (1) family's

subsistence need of food from paddy fields; and (2)

commercial livelihood to generate cash from

agricultural commodities, such as crops, annual

plant, livestock and fisheries. However, those

commodities depended on product quality and its

price in the market, suddenly non-profitable for their

income. Therefore, many community members in

both villages have decided to leave the villages and

became labor as alternative livelihood.

Generally, productivity of agricultural

commodities is relatively low which was caused by

lack of knowledge and skill in cultivation, pest and

disease outbreaks, and low purchasing power for

fertilizer. Although paddy field management ability

of the community was better than other

commodities, their income resulted from paddy field

was relatively insufficient. Hence, in order to fulfill

their needs for food, the community planted a

limited number of secondary crops such as sweet

potato, cassava, vegetables and paddy fields.

Furthermore, the community was also raising

livestock (cow, goat and chicken) to support the

household economy. Some community members

who have paddy fields also cultivate fish, such as

Nila and Mujair in a system of mina-padi to support

the food sovereignty.

Figure 1: Sipayung (above) and Sumurbandung (below).

Furthermore, value systems are embedded

systems at both villages to protect social values

relationships in the community. In the study site,

local knowledge can be understood as a system that

has been acknowledged, practiced and become a

tradition in the community in the human life (social

and economic systems) and natural resources

management, where (Tresnasih 2009) stated that the

purpose of agricultural ceremonies are supplicating

safety, neither in farming nor social activity. Both in

Sipayung and Sumurbandung villages found that

mutual cooperation (gotong royong) still existed in

the community. Generally, gotong royong used to

help special events such as parties/celebrations,

death as well as other social activities. Local

knowledge can also be integrated into a form of

social institution or social capital, especially at the

religious institution (pesantren, masque, majelis

taklim).

Both Qothrotul Falah and Nurul Madany have

been recognized by the community around

pesantren. Their inceptions in those villages have

contributed significantly in social development, such

as Islamic education, both of them also contributed

significantly to providing formal education for the

community, i.e.: junior and senior high school (see

Figure 2). Furthermore, pesantren also facilitate

santri to improve entrepreneur skills in the

cooperative, such as Koperasi Pondok Pesantren

(Koppontren) and agribusiness (see Figure 2).

Therefore, santri are oriented to have a spirit of hard

work, creative, and capable in managing their skills.

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Figure 2: Agricultural equipment and nursery in pesantren

of Qothrotul Falah (above) and Nurul Madany (below).

Furthermore, Both Qothrotul Falah and Nurul

Madany have collaborated with farmer groups at

villages in agricultural activities. This shows that

pesantren and communities were integrated in the

economic activities by strengthening their social

capital. According to Syafar (2017: 5) stated that the

concept of social capital as a set of values, norms,

and beliefs that make the community can actively

work together to achieve common goals. Socially,

both pesantren and communities are recognized as a

local tradition to maintain the natural resources and

environment for their livelihood sustainability in the

present and in the future.

Typically, pesantren and farmer groups have

cooperated in the form of training and assistance.

Pesantren has roles in responding to social and

economic dynamics through community

development programs in agricultural cultivation.

However, Qothrotul Falah has a network with the

local government to obtain several programs for the

community, such as agricultural equipment grants.

Meanwhile, Nurul Madany has the Agricultural

Vocational High School which involves agriculture

agencies in the educational processes, such as:

learning, training, and comparative study with

farmer groups. This condition can be referred to the

phenomenon of social entrepreneurship, since the

pesantren are shown their ability to build

collaboration with other stakeholders in supporting

local economy enhancement, such as agricultural

extension agents. Based on the facts, social

entrepreneurship pesantren-based at both villages

are potentially conducted through collaboration

approaches between pesantren and communities, and

as Reginald et al. (2015: 343) stated to maintain the

socio-economic activities, i.e. the Islamic values

(dakwah), business network, and providing social

values for the community. For this reason, the role

of pesantren in the context of social

entrepreneurship can be a social enterprise which

has a strategic role for farmers and other social

groups in both villages.

Based on the explanation above, social

entrepreneurship that has been conducted by

pesantren used social capital approach. This

approach is effective to develop mutual cooperation

between pesantren, community, and stakeholders

due to the capacity of pesantren to stimulate rural

community participation are relatively effective.

Pesantren has characterized by patron-client

relationships, where Kyai (pesantren leader) has

highly charismatics influence not only by santri, but

also by the community, and they are believed that

the existences of Qothrotul Falah and Nurul

Madany in their villages can contribute for them,

especially education, religious value, and social

norm, Siregar et al. (2013) stated that the charisma

of a Kyai also has supported from the people due to

his faith quality and moral stability. Thus, the

charisma of Kyai has been recognized by the

community because they wish to obtain his blessings

from Kyai.

Furthermore, despite the pesantren’s roles at the

community are relatively well in both villages, the

services it conducts are socially integrated with the

common goal. Abu-Saifan (2012: 24) noted that the

ultimate goals of social entrepreneurs are to create

economic wealth, and directly serve their mission to

deliver social value, and the priority is to fulfill their

social mission. In Sumurbandung, farmer groups and

pesantren are worked together in field rice which

was assisted by facilitators from pesantren. They are

also involved with the local government for training

activities, such as the agriculture agencies & local

army. They have conducted training for farmers

groups, neither cultivation nor cooperative

managerial training. Cooperative farmers have been

built by them to manage their commodity in the

market, such as price. Furthermore, the involvement

of farmer groups and pesantren are needed to ensure

social entrepreneurship originates from the social

capital of the community.

3.2 Social Entrepreneurship

Development Pesantren-based to

Support Local Economy

Pesantren and the community have initiated the

realization of social entrepreneurship based on local

resources at both villages, neither Sumurbandung

Social Entrepreneurship Pesantren-based to Support Rural Development in the Era of Covid-19 Pandemic: Case Study in District of Lebak,

Banten Province, Indonesia

653

nor Sipayung. In the group interviews session at the

villages of Sumurbandung, the farmer groups are

well-responded to participate in the collaboration

program with Qothrotul Falah for local economy

enhancement. They believe that these pesantren

have a role and function as Islamic education as well

as economic institutions that have given the impact

for rural areas due to both pesantren have grown and

developed together with the surrounding

community. Therefore, the existence of pesantren

can be argued that they have a high level of integrity

with the surrounding community, as well as being a

social norm for community life.

Furthermore, Nurul Madany sees that community

empowerment surrounding pesantren as a

collaboration of efforts to meet the need, especially

education and local economy. In these cases,

pesantren organize empowerment programs with the

community in various fields based on basic needs to

attain their goals, the basic needs are mainly dealing

with economic and social problems. Social

entrepreneurship at Sipayung village needs

cooperation between ustadz, santri and farmers, as

Wibowo et al. (2015: 15) explain that at least three

interrelated terms will be found, i.e. social

entrepreneurship, social entrepreneur, and social

enterprise. Santri has been provided with

entrepreneurial training by the pesantren to prepare

capacity enhancement in business skill. As stated by

an informant that in improving the quality of santri,

Nurul Madany has organized training for students in

the fields of livestock, agriculture, sewing, and home

industry to make various snacks from simple

ingredients that can be obtained from the

surrounding environment, this program collaborated

with alumni (MMU, 20 July 2020).

They are not only obtained knowledge in the

training, but also several motivations to be able to

develop their skills. The results of their skills are

convection products (bags, shoes, clothes, t-shirts).

These products were exhibited and marketed around

Lebak district. In this context, Nurul Madany’s

perspective of empowerment is directly related to

capacity building for his santri in the business skill

improvement. Furthermore, Qothrotul Falah has

improved the quality of his santri by developing

various economic efforts. Ustadz have significant

roles to facilitate santri in the improvement of

business skills. They have Koppontren that santri

are given opportunities to manage the business units,

such as: herbal medicine, groceries, office

stationery, bike shop, etc. Santri are also given

activities by pesantren to manage the pesantren's

farms, such as: livestock, nursery, crops, and field

rice.

Furthermore, both

Qothrotul Falah and Nurul

Madany have conducted entrepreneurship and

cultivation of agriculture training for the community,

such as: farmer groups and women organizations.

Based on the group interviews in Sumurbandung, all

training on entrepreneurship for women has

benefited and essential and to improve household

income. They are assessed that social

entrepreneurship by Qothrotul Falah is needed for

the community by conducting training including

training on entrepreneurship (81%), lending business

capital (10%), and improving women organization

(9%) to support their small business activities that

have already existed. However, both pesantren are

also identified empowerment activities that have

been formulated and designed with sustainable

assistance and evaluation.

Meanwhile, Nurul Madany has conducted

training on cultivation of paddy for farmer groups

which are beneficial for their activities. They are

assessed that the development of the paddy would

have a positive impact for their prosperity. They

have believed that pesantren were built and

developed with the community, and can work

together due to pesantren as an integral part of

society. The informants stated that social

entrepreneurship was the alternative business for the

local economy, and the farmers could cultivate other

crops to support social entrepreneurship, especially

fruits crops. Many informants stated: the primary

solution for their alternative livelihood might be

raising livestock such as: cows and goats when the

other commodity has declined. Livestock is also an

important source of secondary income and a source

of protein for many farm households.

In the group interviews at both villages the

community has participated in the pesantren’s

programs, neither cultivation assistance nor

entrepreneurial skills. The communities expect that

social entrepreneurship will provide more permanent

activities to the people surrounding the pesantren

due to their occupation as a majority as farmers and

farm workers. Reindrawati (2017: 221) stated that a

social entrepreneurship approach that emphasizes

entrepreneurial creativity, drive and talent for

solutions to social, local economy and

environmental problems, and also provide

employment opportunities for the community. The

majority of occupations of the community in

Sumurbandung and Sipayung are farmers (62% and

41%), and there are also 43 percent farm workers in

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Sipayung, civil servants and small entrepreneurs at

both villages as shown in Figure 3 below.

Figure 3: Occupation of community in Sipayung (above)

and Sumurbandung (below).

The community hopes that the social

entrepreneurship model can serve as a business

center for local people, and provide expansion of

jobs for the community. For further plans, pesantren

as social enterprise can create social entrepreneurs

through business centers that aimed to develop

innovations for the community. Therefore, the

pesantren can be an enterprise activities center to

support local economy development by conducting

capacity building activities to increase farmers’

insights, creating new business, and managing their

farm. For this reason, the pesantren and community

should work together to achieve symbiosis

mutualism (see Table 1), to get better understanding,

and to improve the local economy, such as income

generating for the community.

Table 1: Social Entrepreneurship Aspects between

Qothrotul Falah and Nurul Madany.

Aspects

Social Enterprise

Qothrotul Falah Nurul Madany

Social value

Providing

services to

farmers groups

in agricultural

cultivation.

Assisting farmer

groups within

integrated

agriculture

programs.

Innovation

Building a farmer economy by

strengthening of agribusiness units

that engaged with local community.

Business

model

1. Community empowerment

which includes training and

facilitation.

2. Providing microfinance

services within cooperative

institutions.

3. Building agribusiness canters

in strengthening marketing

products.

Transformation

Releasing

dependence on

funding from

donor agencies

to ensure

sustainability.

Independent

institutions

through

entrepreneurial

activities

pesantren-

based.

Outcome

1. Increasing

socio-

economic.

2. Improving

sustainable

community.

3. Farmers'

social

cohesion.

1. Overcoming

the poverty

problems.

2. Improving

farmer

groups’

capacities.

3. Social

cohesion.

Source: Researcher, 2020 (data was processed)

Social entrepreneurship which has been

conducted that is developed by pesantren and

communities, both pesantren can realize social work

specially in alleviating poverty. Innovations and

ideas that are obtained by community and pesantren

are to address opportunities for social change in their

villages. Therefore, the entrepreneurial approach

taken by those pesantren in the form of social

business is a form of economic independence to

support its social activities. Profits obtained from

entrepreneurial activities are developed and

redistributed to society, especially at risk groups

(vulnerable people or poor people) through activities

that have a social or positive impact, so that social

entrepreneurship which are conducted by pesantren

and community are plays an important role in the

form of a breakthrough in poverty reduction efforts.

3.3 Social Entrepreneurship Benefits in

Rural Development

Based on explanations above, both Qothrotul Falah

and Nurul Madany have carried out social

entrepreneurship activities that are developed and

integrated with social capital and local wisdom

owned by the community around the pesantren.

Development of pesantren-based social

entrepreneurship which focuses on community is

assistance activities and facilitation of farmer

groups. For this reason, as social entrepreneurs,

Social Entrepreneurship Pesantren-based to Support Rural Development in the Era of Covid-19 Pandemic: Case Study in District of Lebak,

Banten Province, Indonesia

655

pesantren develop their social entrepreneurship to

uphold social capital in maintaining the

sustainability of their present and future livelihoods,

as Kelley et al. (2011: 18) noted that entrepreneurs

“create needs” but business people or social

entrepreneurs “satisfy needs”. Thus, the

development of social entrepreneurship in the two

villages cannot be separated from the social capital

of the community which has a socio-economic

impact on the region.

Social entrepreneurship that has been developed

based on pesantren and the community is a

sustainable effort that promotes the active role of

local residents to manage it in a better direction.

This can be seen from the fact that the community

has the knowledge and skills in managing the local

economy and social capital which is the potential

and opportunity and equitable economic

development, especially for poor communities, it is a

significant driver of change through social

innovation. Pesantren have created sustainable

social impact by providing the target groups with

beneficial services and products. Thus, the

entrepreneurial approach taken in the form of a

social business is a form of economic independence

to support social activities in their village. Therefore,

community involvement roles are an important

aspect in managing and preserving the developed

social entrepreneurship patterns.

Qothrotul Falah and Nurul Madany have

conducted social entrepreneurship providing

services to farmers in order to improve their

economy through mentoring activities and the

formation of organizations that focus on sustainable

agricultural development. With the existence of

pesantren in the villages that rely on local and

national strengths, the community has begun to be

open and professional in its management to achieve

effective and efficient goals. Therefore, pesantren-

based social entrepreneurship requires collaboration

with various stakeholders to achieve effective

targets. Therefore, pesantren can be transformed

into an independent institution by implementing

entrepreneurial values with the community.

One of the challenges faced by pesantren related

to social entrepreneurship management in

accordance with local resource development is the

level of competence and skills, as well as business

competition in facing industry 4.0, such as e-

commerce, Kurniawati et al. (2020) stated that e-

commerce opportunities to influences satisfaction

and provides the best services. The management of

social entrepreneurship in encouraging sustainable

rural development in the spirit of local wisdom

values will create increased business opportunities,

because it is managed by the community and

pesantren who have business skills and knowledge

to empower the community. So that the development

of social entrepreneurship will be manifested in the

quality management of social enterprise and

reliability of human resources.

The community's challenge in the future is the

limited collaboration with stakeholders in supporting

its activities. Local stakeholders consist of

individuals and institutional groups located in the

village, such as the village government. For this

reason, if the pesantren and the community want to

have the expected target, it is very important to build

cooperation with various parties, including: 1) the

government plays a role in encouraging access to

services through rural development programs based

on Islamic boarding schools, 2) Village-owned

enterprises (Badan Usaha Milik Desa) as a forum

increasing regional economic development (Sumarni

et al., 2020) through various collaborative

institutions with various parties, 3) Regional

stakeholders are local governments consisting of

Banten Province, Lebak Regency, related local

government agencies, universities, and non-

governmental organizations. (NGOs) such as

Dompet Dhuafa, 4) National stakeholders are the

Ministry of Villages, Development of

Disadvantaged Areas, and Transmigration, the

Ministry of Home Affairs, the Ministry of National

Development Planning or the National Development

Planning Agency (BAPPENAS).

Interaction between stakeholders is a mutually

beneficial symbiotic relationship, especially at the

local level. Individual and local stakeholders carry

out several activities and communication

intensively. The benefits of existing collaboration in

developing social entrepreneurship by pesantren and

community in villages have had a wide impact.

Pesantren has become a potential social enterprise in

facilitating target groups, such as farmer groups,

santri, ustadz to implement their business. In

addition, this pattern is an effort by pesantren to

help the community, especially in facing the

pandemic of COVID-19 outbreak that can threaten

nation development to resolve poverty alleviation.

Nowadays, the world is addressing the aftermath

of COVID-19 outbreak, the World Economic Forum

(2020: 8) stated that the pandemic has resulted many

marginalized communities in the worldwide, and

approximately 100 million people could slip into

extreme poverty due to the impact of the health and

economic effects of this crisis. Social

entrepreneurship is needed as a responsibility for the

ICE-HUMS 2021 - International Conference on Emerging Issues in Humanity Studies and Social Sciences

656

world crisis, the existence of Qothrotul Falah and

Nurul Madany in social entrepreneurship practices

can become partners for the government in

economic development in responding to the

pandemic to overcome poverty can be realized.

Therefore, pesantren as social entrepreneurs need

strength support from stakeholders to play a role in

serving or working with the community.

Finally, those stakeholders and pesantren should

create activities that provide the poor with beneficial

services and products to improve business

opportunities. They can design a sustainable model

for building an inclusive economy for many years in

facing the pandemic COVID-19 consist: 1) develop

essential products and services in the agribusiness

development during pandemic, 2) maintaining social

security which are collaborated with local

government, 3) innovating to overcome

environmental and social challenges, 4) conducting

and advocating for a SDGs, calling for a green

economy, 5) empower and create strategy with

communities around pesantren so that they can

develop their own challenges and its solutions.

4 CONCLUSIONS

Social entrepreneurship pesantren-based has been

conducted by Qothrotul Falah and Nurul Madany as

the development efforts through participatory

approaches with local people surrounding pesantren.

Social entrepreneurship plays an important role in

the form of a breakthrough in poverty reduction

efforts. Manifestations of pesantren and community

have described that entrepreneurship is an economic

lever for society to improve the economy and

increase income, especially in facing the Pandemic

COVID-19. In addition, social entrepreneurship

encourages local economic development, although

still within a limited reach due to several challenges.

However, in the long term the poverty alleviation

agenda in Lebak district can be realized if pesantren

and local community are always collaborating in the

framework of social enterprise. Therefore,

innovative ideas and creative innovations can

combine in their business concepts and take

advantage of entrepreneurial opportunities to solve

local problems.

Furthermore, the creation of several activities

that have been conducted by pesantren and

community, especially farmer groups in

Sumurbandung and Sipayung villages, can enable

them to identify their own potentials, problems, and

together proposing alternative solutions. This means

that social entrepreneurship was conducted

depending on social cohesiveness, the concept of

social capital as the groundwork of their activities.

The members, such as ustadz, santri, farmer groups,

and women organizations that they have a more

equal relationship, and are able to make cooperation

with the Kyai in conducting their activities. The role

of Kyai is an important in both pesantren to ensure

that the facilitation of social entrepreneurship can

conduct as their planned. Pesantren as actors of

social entrepreneurship play a role in encouraging

community economic improvement in order to help

the community surrounding pesantren. Community

empowerment is an important value as in the

concept of social entrepreneurship development

pesantren-based, social value creation is the main

goal by combining it with innovative activities.

Social entrepreneurship that has been conducted

by Qothrotul Falah and Nurul Madany are

developed and integrated with social capital and

local wisdom which is owned by the community

around the pesantren. Socially, both pesantren and

communities are recognized as a local tradition to

maintain the natural resources and environment for

their livelihood sustainability in the present and in

the future in responding to social and economic

dynamics through community development

programs. Qothrotul Falah has a network with the

local government to obtain several programs for the

community, such as agricultural equipment grants.

Meanwhile, Nurul Madany has the Agricultural

Vocational High School which involves agriculture

agencies in the educational processes, such as:

learning, training, and comparative study with

farmer groups.

Furthermore, implementation of social

entrepreneurship is needed as a responsibility for the

world crisis, especially the pandemic of COVID-19

outbreak. Both Pesantren have become a potential

for social enterprise in facilitating target groups,

such as farmer groups, santri, ustadz to implement

their business. The existence of Qothrotul Falah and

Nurul Madany in social entrepreneurship practices

can contribute for local economy and become

partners for the government in economic

development, 1) providing services to farmers to

improve agriculture by focusing on facilitation and

trainings, 2) assisting farmers in trainings and

cultivation of field rice, livestock, and fisheries, 3)

building household economy through the

establishment of agribusiness unit that engaged in

community as well as education and trainings. Those

activities are aimed to increase socio-economic

through community empowerment.

Social Entrepreneurship Pesantren-based to Support Rural Development in the Era of Covid-19 Pandemic: Case Study in District of Lebak,

Banten Province, Indonesia

657

Social entrepreneurship pesantren-based is

beneficially has contributed for target groups. They

have obtained entrepreneurial knowledge and skills,

and they should be practiced in the community

according to local resources. Those programs are

aimed to improve independent human beings and

benefit them. However, collaboration actions are

needed between stakeholders and pesantren for

creating activities to provide business opportunities,

especially poor households surrounding pesantren.

In addition, they can design a sustainable model for

building an inclusive economy for many years

facing the pandemic COVID-19, such as: inclusive

and green economy.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

We would like to thank the Ministry of Religion

Affair, Republic of Indonesia that has given us the

opportunity to conduct this research through the

Competitive Research Grant on the Title: Social

Entrepreneurship Pesantren-Based to Support Rural

Development in Banten, Indonesia. Furthermore,

Prof. Fauzul Iman, as a Rector of State Islamic

University of Sultan Maulana Hasanuddin Banten

who has encouraged us to conduct this research, the

Institute for Research and Community Service of the

State Islamic University of Sultan Maulana

Hasanuddin Banten, and our students as field

assistants who have helped us in providing data and

relevant information.

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