Marketing of cilembu sweet potato seeds in the cybernetics era through the content of Dongeng Hui Cilembu: a study of ethnostorytelling at Cilembu Village, Sumedang, West Java, Indonesia

摘要

This study aims to describe the role of folktale as indigenous knowledge which is communicated from generation to generation from the older to the younger people in developing Cilembu sweet potato cultivation system based on local wisdom. The spoken culture of Dongeng Hui Cilembu (Tale of Cilembu Sweet Potato) has made the locals believe that the cultivation of Cilembu sweet potato can only be performed in Cilembu village, thus if grown in other regions, it will not be sweet. This belief generates problems when sweet potato export demand increases while the fields are limited, harvest acceleration is hampered and the price of crop is low because the management is still conventional. On the one hand, Dongeng Hui Cilembu can maintain local wisdom. However, on the other hand, decreased productivity causes financial problems for the farmers. The subject of the study is the young people of Cilembu village and the object of the study is Dongeng Hui Cilembu. This study used the qualitative method with case study approach. Data were collected through interview, observation and document study. Dongeng Hui Cilembu which is believed to be a myth, in fact can be an effective marketing content in the cybernetics era. The marketing of Cilembu sweet potato seeds that is wrapped with ethnostorytelling is an interesting part from the study's findings. Dongeng Hui Cilembu as a folktale can boost the sales of Cilembu sweet potato seeds and increase the farmers' revenue (micro-financial) that affects not only the preservation of local wisdom but also sustainability of economic development.