Empowering Islamic Boarding School MSMEs through Optimizing Product Processing to Increase the Economic Independence of Islamic Boarding Schools at PPs MBI Mambaul Falah, Bawean Island

Abstract

Islamic boarding schools play a strategic role in empowering the community's economy through the development of productive business units. This study aims to identify the potential and constraints in the fish processing MSME sector at the MBI Mambaul Falah Islamic Boarding School on Bawean Island, as well as to formulate strategies for strengthening economic independence based on the Islamic boarding school community. The approach used in this community service activity is Participatory Action Research (PAR) through a spiral cycle that includes the stages of planning, action, observation, and reflection. The subject of this service is a fish processing business unit (bonggolan and fishball products) managed by alumni of the Islamic boarding school. Initial observations indicate that the processed fish products have advantages in terms of taste and competitive market potential. However, the sustainability of this business unit faces crucial obstacles, especially in the weaknesses of business management aspects (formal governance and financial records) and the simplicity of packaging. Cases of product damage (spoilage) were found during shipments outside the region due to unstandardized airtight packaging techniques and the absence of visual product identity labels. Through an integrated PAR-based mentoring program, it is recommended to optimize production technology, standardize quality, improve commercial packaging design, implement formal management, and expand digital marketing to achieve sustainable economic independence for Islamic boarding schools.