Traditional Market and Covid-19: Digital Transformation and Clean Healthy Market Culture as a Strategy to Overcome the Pandemic

FEB Telkom University Community Service to Traditional Market in Kabupaten Bandung
by: Dodie Tricahyono, Risris Rismayani, and Yusuf Budiana

Traditional markets are important presence in society as a mean to provide food and daily necessities safely. According to data from Ministry of Trade in 2007, there are 13,450 traditional markets in Indonesia that accommodate 12,625 million merchants. Traditional markets are influenced by suppliers, merchants, consumers, market managers, safety and health bureau, and local public figures. Therefore, active participation and commitment from stakeholders are necessary to develop a healthy market. Support from government in developing clean, healthy, and safe traditional market come in form of Health Minister Decree No. 519/MENKES/SK/VI/2008. The purpose of the decree is the realization of clean, healthy, and safe traditional market that comes from independence of traditional markets community.

Community service is one of the Three Pilars of Higher Education. Traditional market becomes one of the target community for community service program of Telkom University School of Economic and Business (SEB). In 9-10 June 2020, lecturer team of SEB Tel-U organized a community service program that targets traditional market merchants and managements in Kabupaten Bandung. The program’s theme was transforming traditional market into modern market with clean and healthy culture to overcome Covid-19 pandemic. The program’s participants were merchants and managements from traditional markets around Bandung, in total of 50 people. In spite of pandemic situation, that forbids crowds and limit physical interaction, participants were enthusiastic in listening to the lecture and actively participating the discussion throughout the program via Internet

The program lectures were discussing the concept of clean and healthy market. Participants learnt to understand how clean and healthy market is implemented and how to measure the condition of the market, in term of cleanliness and healthiness, according to criteria from Ministry of Health. Post-pandemic condition of traditional market were also discussed in the program. Participants learnt to understand the upcoming transition due to Covid-19, complemented with updates on clean and healthy market concept after Covid-19. They were actively joining the discussion throughout the program. Asking question related to the lecture and about the daily struggles of traditional market.

The program was successfully organized thanks to the coordination between Telkom University, Association of Traditional Market Management (Asparindo), Industrial and Trade Office of Bandung, the merchants, and traditional market management.