The Community-Based Service Team of the Indonesian Language and Literature Education Program at the Faculty of Teacher Training and Education (FKIP), Unsri, Held a Creative Writing Workshop Based on Local Culture at SMPN 2 Indralaya

The Community-Based Service (PBM) Team from the Indonesian Language and Literature Education Study Program, Faculty of Teacher Training and Education, Sriwijaya University (FKIP Unsri), completed a series of training sessions to improve creative writing skills based on the local culture of Ogan Ilir at Indralaya 2 Public Junior High School, Tunas Aur Village, Talang Aur, on Thursday, October 30, 2025. The program, led by Khalidatun Nuzula, M.Pd., along with four faculty members and four students, ran from July through October 2025 and involved 20 students and 3 Indonesian language teachers as participants.

The implementation of this community service program began with a needs assessment conducted jointly with the principal of SMPN 2 Indralaya, Ratna Agustina, S.Pd., on July 2, 2025, followed by follow-up interviews with the Indonesian language teaching staff on September 8, 2025. Based on this initial assessment, it was identified that the main challenges students faced in learning to write were difficulties in formulating and developing coherent ideas for their writing, as well as limitations in selecting appropriate vocabulary.

During the core training session on October 9, 2025, the entire faculty team took turns presenting material to bridge writing theory with the rich local traditions of the area. Khalidatun Nuzula, M.Pd., began the session by introducing various aspects of Talang Aur’s local cultural heritage—such as Tongkang, Ngobeng, Tarindak, Kuntung, and even local culinary specialties like Kacang Molen and Dodol as sources of writing inspiration. This was followed by Utari Rachma Siwi, S.Pd., M.A., who discussed techniques for developing ideas; Raka Gunaika, S.S., M.A., on locality-based poetry writing, Dr. Agus Syaripudin, M.Ed., on short story writing, and Akhmad Rizqi Turama, S.Pd., M.A., on fairy tale writing.

To ensure these literacy skills were honed to the fullest, the service-learning team conducted two intensive mentoring sessions on October 14 and 21, 2025, to monitor the progress of the students’ written works. During these mentoring sessions, faculty members and students provided corrections, constructive feedback, and specific suggestions for improvement in person, while also building students’ confidence by facilitating their reading of literary works in front of teachers and peers.

The series of activities officially concluded on October 30, 2025, with teachers and students filling out evaluation questionnaires, a reading performance of the best literary works, and the presentation of commemorative gifts to the school. The principal of SMPN 2 Indralaya expressed high appreciation for the synergy that had been established, as this program was considered a concrete solution for boosting students’ literacy culture and creative writing skills while preserving the local cultural heritage of Ogan Ilir Regency.