Utilizing Used Cooking Oil to Make Eco-Friendly Aromatherapy Candles at the P4S OMAH IJO

North Bengkulu, October 18, 2025. Lecturers from the Forestry Department (Forestry and Environmental Science Study Program), Faculty of Agriculture, University of Bengkulu, conducted a Community Service activity with the theme “Utilizing Used Cooking Oil as a Material for Making Environmentally Friendly and Economically Valuable Aromatherapy Candles at the OMAH IJO Self-Help Agriculture and Rural Training Center (P4S), Tanjung Dalam Village, Ulok Kupai District, North Bengkulu Regency.” This activity aimed to provide education and practical skills to the community in processing used cooking oil, a frequently discarded household waste, into a value-added product, namely environmentally friendly aromatherapy candles.
The head of the community service team, Albert Farma, S.Hut., M.Si., explained that this activity was part of an effort to support sustainable waste management and empower the village community economy. “Used cooking oil is often considered useless waste. However, if processed properly, it can be turned into economically valuable products like aromatherapy candles. Through this activity, we want to change people’s perspectives on waste and simultaneously open up new environmentally friendly business opportunities,” said Albert Farma, S.Hut., M.Si.
In the activity, held at P4S OMAH IJO, the community service team provided hands-on training to the community, covering: the process of filtering and refining used cooking oil; mixing natural ingredients for making aromatherapy candles; techniques for coloring and adding natural scents from essential oils; and strategies for packaging and marketing environmentally friendly products. Participants, consisting of members of farmer groups, housewives, and village youth, enthusiastically participated in all stages of the training. They had the opportunity to make their own aromatherapy candles and take home their creations as examples of products that can be developed at the household level.

One participant said that this activity opened up new insights into how to manage household waste more usefully. “We are very happy to be able to learn how to make candles from used cooking oil. Besides being able to use it ourselves, this could be a small business opportunity in our village,” said one of the training participants. Through this activity, the University of Bengkulu seeks to encourage innovation in utilizing household waste into creative and economically valuable products, while strengthening the role of P4S OMAH IJO as a center for environmental learning and community empowerment in North Bengkulu.