Universitas Muhammadiyah Purworejo (UMPWR), through its Community Service Program (KKN) team in Sokoagung Village, Bagelen District, facilitated an institutional strengthening training for the Merah Putih Village Cooperative (Koperasi Desa Merah Putih/KDMP) on Sunday, February 1, 2026. The training was conducted in response to a request from the management of KDMP Sokoagung, represented by its chairman, Wahidin.
Wahidin explained that KDMP Sokoagung is still in its early stage of development and therefore requires capacity building, particularly in increasing public awareness of the benefits of cooperatives.
“We are still very new to cooperative management. We need institutional strengthening so that the community understands the benefits of having a cooperative, is willing to become members, and provides support. In addition, we also need assistance with bookkeeping and financial reporting,” he stated.
In response to this request, UMPWR assigned two lecturers, Susi Widjajani, M.Si., and Dedi Runanto, M.Si., as resource persons for the training. In her presentation, Susi Widjajani emphasized the role of cooperatives as a solution for improving members’ welfare, where cooperative members are the community themselves.
“Government support for cooperatives has been very strong. What is needed now is collective participation from the community to develop the cooperative, as the benefits and the surplus (SHU) will ultimately be returned to the members,” she explained.
Meanwhile, Dedi Runanto highlighted the importance of proper administrative and financial documentation, particularly in preparation for the Annual Members’ Meeting (Rapat Anggota Tahunan/RAT). He outlined that cooperatives are required to prepare financial documents such as a balance sheet and a profit and loss or surplus (SHU) report.
“There will be two KDMP facilitators from the Cooperative Office assigned to each sub-district. In addition, we from UMPWR are also ready to provide further assistance after this activity,” he concluded.
The Head of Sokoagung Village, Triwanto, expressed his appreciation for UMPWR’s contribution in deploying the KKN team and lecturers to support the strengthening of the Merah Putih Village Cooperative.
“If continuous assistance can be provided by UMPWR, we would be very pleased, especially since the chairman of KDMP is an alumnus of UMPWR,” he said.
Muhammad Iqbal, the Village Student Coordinator (Kormades) of the 2026 UMPWR KKN Team in Sokoagung Village, stated that the economic empowerment programs consist of two main activities, namely digital marketing, which has already been implemented, and the institutional strengthening of KDMP. In the future, the 2026 UMPWR KKN Team in Sokoagung Village plans to implement environmental programs, including the planting of sugar palm trees and disaster mitigation activities in collaboration with the Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD).
