Usu's Pwd Master's Program Assists Villages For Mapping Hariara Pohan Samosir Tourism Village Using Drones

Fieldtrip and Service

Students and lecturers from the Master's Program in Regional and Rural Development Planning (S2 PWD) at the Postgraduate School of the Universitas Sumatera Utara (USU) have conducted a meaningful field trip and community service activity. This activity took place in Hariara Pohan Village, Harian District, Samosir Regency, from October 20 to 21, 2023.

Hariara Pohan Village, located on the shores of Lake Toba, was awarded the prestigious Anugerah Desa Wisata Indonesia (ADWI) award, demonstrating its potential as an attractive tourist destination. Dr. Achmad Siddik Thoha, S.Hut, M.Si, an experienced lecturer in planning and spatial planning, hosted the activity.

In order to explore the tourism potential of this village, the USU PWD Master students conducted thorough documentation. They used drones to take aerial pictures and videos showing tourist attractions, facilities, and accessibility conditions of the ecotourism area. One of the drone shooting locations was Holbung Hill, known as the main attraction and has even been used as a setting in the production of the movie “Ngeri-ngeri Sedap”.

In addition, students also documented village public facilities (FASUM) as part of the mapping material with drones. They also conducted interviews and discussions with village officials, ecotourism operators, homestay managers, and local communities to obtain valuable primary data.

The results of the drone data collection, surveys, and interviews will be used to create an aerial photo map of the potential of the tourism village. This map will be made in A0 size and will be handed over to the village government and tourism managers. This will help them manage and promote the village's potential as an attractive tourist destination.

This activity is not just an academic project, but also a tangible form of the Three Pillars of Higher Education involving education, research, and community service. Students and lecturers hope this activity will increase their sense of caring for the local community and provide a deeper understanding of their problems. In addition, this activity also aims to increase capacity in the ability to identify and formulate problems and provide solutions to overcome problems that exist around the village.

All of these activities are carried out under the auspices of the Postgraduate School of the Universitas Sumatera Utara, which is currently led by Prof. Ir. T. Sabrina, M.Agr.Sc, Ph.D, as Director of the Postgraduate School, and Dr. Ir. Satia Negara Lubis, M.Ec, as head of the Master of Regional and Rural Development study program. This activity clearly demonstrates the university's commitment to combining learning and community service for mutual progress and prosperity.