Yusnadi Gunawan, Sharing the Science Behind Hydroponics
Yusnadi Gunawan freely shares his knowledge on the science of hydroponics. The 50-year-old hydropnic farmer is offering online training for interested participants
Yusnadi Gunawan
Yusnadi Gunawan freely shares his knowledge on the science of hydroponics. The 50-year-old hydropnic farmer is offering online training for interested participants, requiring only that they “reward” the program by posting photographs of their progress in hydroponic farming at home. The health crisis has seen a boom in people taking up hydroponics as a hobby.
Seven years ago, Yusnadi started delving into hydroponic farming, which cultivates horticultural plants with water and without soil. After becoming well-versed and gaining experience in growing plants using a hydroponic system, he started sharing his knowhow with anyone who was interested.
For him, this is just tit-for-tat, since he also gained his own knowledge and skills in hydroponics for free by scouring the internet and by asking for information from his friends.
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Yusnadi feels joy in making many good friends through sharing his expertise. His “trainees” come from various backgrounds, so he also gains knowledge beyond hydroponics.
“At first, I did it for fun because I like growing plants,” Yusnadi said on Friday (10/7/2020) at Graceful Hydroponics in Bandung, West Java.
Yusnadi has invited many people who grow vegetables at home to join his training and sharing group, called Graceful Hydroponics. Over several phases, he has sought the best and most effective training method to share his hydroponics knowledge without direct interaction with his training participants. Unexpectedly, he has held several training batches, from batch A to his current group of trainees, batch S. Each batch normally comprises 100 members, but during the Covid-19 social restrictions, batch S has grown to 230 participants.
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Yusnadi Gunawan
With this large a number of participants in the Graceful Hydroponics WhatsApp group, Yusnadi has divided them into smaller groups of 10-15 people each, with one coordinator managing two groups each. So the 230 participants of batch S has been divided into 16 small groups with eight coordinators. Each group has 2-3 instructors.
The participants of the free online training program come from Aceh to Papua, and have been training for around two months. The free hydroponics training program has encouraged the participants to share what they have learned with each other. They even share their expertise in different professions and academic subjects.
Dividing the participants into small groups allows all participants to ask individual questions about hydroponics. Unrestricted by time or space, the groups tend to be active 24/7 on WhatsApp. Their tutors and coordinators are also at hand to offer guidance, such as in responding to the participants’ concerns about pest control.
In this training program, the photos are like the fee payments. It’s a free ‘school.
Florencia Ing, a training participant, has harvested three crops of hydroponic vegetables since the outbreak emerged. She said that Yusnadi forbid the participants from purchasing commercial hydroponic equipment, and instead advised them to repurpose used items like bottles, paint cans and plastic buckets to build their hydroponic system. He also urged them to use any seedlings they had.
The online training format means that the participants’ individual commitment is vital to their success. They are required to record their progress in hydropnic farming by taking photographs at each stage, from sowing seeds, to germination and to the harvest season, all against a growing calendar. All participants are required to share their photos with the group.
“In an ordinary school, they have to pay [fees] every month from the outset. Now, in this training program, the photos are like the fee payments. It’s a free ‘school’, they pay with their photos,” Yusnadi said, laughing.
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Those participants who do not post regular photos from sowing to harvest time are excluded from the group. Some people demonstrate commitment at the start of the training, but when the other participants have moved on to the sowing and germination stages, they do not post a single photograph. Not posting photos is the same as not paying the “training fee”.
Training methods
It wasn’t easy for Yusnadi to develop his free hydroponics “school”. He had difficulty setting up Graceful Hydroponics, now five years old. Two years before he started Graceful Hydroponics, Yusnadi began by taking his hydroponically grown vegetables to a junior high school reunion. There, he distributed lettuce, red lettuce, Chinese cabbage and cherry tomatoes to his classmates.
He and his classmates made a commitment at the first school reunion to learn about hydroponics together. But there seemed to be no conformity. While some alumni could commit to it, others were unable. This continued until the next reunion, when they again discussed their commitment to learning about hydroponics.
“I had the idea if learning to grow plants online via WA [WhatsApp]. My (now deceased) friend Yung-yung moved quickly. The system of shared learning was applied. Vegetables were cultivated and each stage [of growth] was photographed,” said Yusnadi.
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Yusnadi GunawanARSIP PRIBADI
Starting with a little over 10 people, the membership kept growing to 20, and then 30. Minor problems emerged. New members had to learn from scratch and couldn’t keep up with the WhatsApp group. Yusnadi then found a more effective method of online hydroponic training.
From the beginning, Yusnadi’s goal in providing a place to learn about hydroponics was not about selling the vegetable products. Although he set up a cooperative, it is merely intended to meet the training participants’ need for seedlings and nutrient solutions. The initial training session allows participants to purchase seedlings so they have the same set as everyone else in the group. One group grows the same crops, so they can follow each others’ progress as well as their own.
If a new member really wants to buy a starter kit or a basic set of hydroponic equipment, they can buy it from Graceful Hydroponics for Rp180,000 per set. However, they are under no obligation to purchase the basic set, because Yusnadi has wanted all participants to share a feeling of joy through hydroponic farming.
“This free school indeed has its pros and cons, but we are keeping it going because it only aims to help people enjoy what they do. It’s enjoyable and grows a network of many good friends,” said Yusnadi, whose has a hydroponic farm that takes up a space of 2.5 meters by 10 meters in his house.
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The free hydroponics training program was always intended to generate joy, so it focuses on a household scale. Still, it doesn’t rule out the possibility that the more serious participants may go on to develop their hydropnic systems and expand to a commercial scale, such as for supplying supermarkets.
Its activities is not restricted to cultivating plants, and has now grown to incorporate making tempeh and tofu as well as growing orchids. Through targeted guidance, the dedicated participants can actually see their own achievements. The majority of Yusnadi’s training participants are still actively growing crops using hydroponics.
The father of three acknowledged that it was difficult to provide guidance to hundreds of participants. There are always a few who habitually ask many questions during the training. Nevertheless, Yusnadi remains enthusiastic about spreading the joy of hydroponic farming, and welcomes any participant who wants to arrange a private session.
Yusnadi Gunawan
Born: Bandung, 10 May 1970
Wife: Suhasih Tanimukti
Children: three
Education:
- Maranatha Christian University, Bandung
- BPK Penabur 3 Christian vocational senior high school, Bandung
Occupation:
- Director, PT Prima Gracindo, Bandung
