In a quiet corner of rural Yogyakarta, a community-based initiative is redefining how faith, environment, and social welfare intersect. Over the course of two months, from June 26 to August 31, 2025, the Social Welfare Study Program (IKS) of UIN Sunan Kalijaga carried out a community engagement project in Kebekelan Jumat Kliwon, Jetak Hamlet, Sendangtirto Village, Berbah District, Sleman Regency.

The initiative brought together 10 students from the Program Beasiswa Santri Berprestasi (PBSB)—widely known within its national network as CSSMORA (Community of Santri Scholars of the Ministry of Religious Affairs)—under the guidance of faculty members Siti Solechah, M.Si, and M. Izzul Haq, Ph.D.

Rather than approaching community service as a short-term intervention, the program adopted a layered framework that blends environmental awareness, religious life, and social empowerment. At its core was the establishment of a centralized waste management system, an effort that goes beyond sanitation to reflect what scholars increasingly describe asecotheology—the idea that caring for the environment is a moral and spiritual responsibility.

“Waste management is not merely technical—it is ethical,” one of the program facilitators noted. “It reflects how religious values are lived out in everyday practices.”

The project also focused on strengthening a women farmers’ group, offering both organizational support and capacity-building initiatives. By doing so, the program sought to expand women’s roles in local economic activities while reinforcing social cohesion at the community level.

Equally significant was the development of a local mushola, envisioned not only as a place of worship but as a hub for community learning, spiritual reflection, and social interaction. In this sense, religious space becomes a site of both devotion and social transformation.

Local leader Barnawi Sutrisno expressed appreciation for the program, highlighting its tangible impact and its sensitivity to local needs. The community formally recognized the contribution of the IKS program through an official certificate of appreciation.

Taken together, the initiative reflects a broader vision of social work—one that bridges faith, ecology, and gender empowerment. It is an approach that resonates with the ethos of IKS: integrating Islamic values with social science to address complex, real-world challenges in ways that are both grounded and transformative.