We currently live in an industrial and interconnected era. As demographics increasingly consist of digital natives adept at utilizing technology, it is undeniable that adaptation is essential for all parties to keep pace with global development.

Indonesia is an archipelagic nation with over 286 million people, spread across 17,000 islands and 1,300 ethnic groups. As a country possessing extraordinary local wisdom, Indonesia has a cultural heritage that has been passed down through generations.

This local wisdom and culture give Indonesia a strong competitive edge on the global stage of cultural diversity. It also creates a uniqueness strongly rooted in the worldview reflected in every cultural manifestation of Indonesia's ethnic groups. One community renowned for its cultural richness to this day is the Baduy Tribe.

As background, the Baduy tribe has a significant agricultural system. Additionally, the Baduy are known for their rich variety of marine products. Some of the Baduy's natural products include rice, salted fish, and honey, along with processed natural goods like the Koja bag.

With the majority of their natural products stored in a granary (lumbung) to be distributed comprehensively among family members, it is understood that they have a Social Insurance System, or a robust system that ensures the social continuity of the Baduy people.

However, amidst the Baduy's cultural richness, a cultural gap exists that hinders the community from keeping pace with the times. This stems from various factors, ranging from customs (adat istiadat) to the community's reluctance to embrace modernization.

Facing the challenge posed by the intersection of Baduy cultural preservation and accelerated modernization, Dian Nusantara University (UNDIRA) organized a Community Service (PkM) program. This activity focused on the Baduy community—widely known for its steadfastness in protecting local wisdom and customs from external influences—with the goal of improving their economic standard without eliminating their cultural authenticity.

According to the views of Cinner and Bernes (2019) and Sharifi (2023), a community's socio-ecological resilience can be accompanied by a cultural gap resulting from a lack of communication or modernization with the outside world. This can affect the pace of social and economic development, while simultaneously eroding long-term sustainability.

In light of the current challenges of industrial change and the modern era, Indonesia's cultural authenticity and social heritage must adapt to improve social and economic standards of living. This is closely related to the concept of Sustainable Development Growth (SDG).

By focusing the PkM on the Outer Baduy community, which has already been exposed to external activities, the UNDIRA PkM team worked to encourage the Baduy to promote their cultural uniqueness and natural products. As interest in the barter system for buying and selling dwindles, the Baduy need to innovate in other areas to generate income.

The Community Service (PkM) conducted by Dian Nusantara University (UNDIRA), titled "Pepakem Baduy: Sustainable Marketing Architecture and Socio-Ecological Resilience in the Midst of the Current of Modernity," not only provides a closer look at the life and social structure of the Baduy Tribe, but also reveals how the intersection of culture and modernity can yield added value in advancing their standard of living.

Through this PkM, the UNDIRA team revealed that the cultural authenticity strictly guarded by the Baduy is not a sign of backwardness, but rather a quality commodity, complete with an authenticity that offers distinct added value in the marketplace.