<![CDATA[This study investigates how community-embedded learning grounded in the local coffee ecosystem functions as an experiential space for meaning-making, identity formation, and learner agency among junior high school students in rural Jember, Indonesia. The research specifically aims to explore students’ lived experiences in coffee-based CBL activities and to understand how these experiences support curriculum learning on the utilization and conservation of natural resources. Employing a qualitative phenomenological design, the study was conducted in three rural schools in Jember Regency (SMPN 1 Sumberbaru, SMPN 6 Tanggul, and SMPN 4 Bangsalsari) and involved students, teachers, farmers, community actors, and creative-economy stakeholders as participants. Data were collected through in-depth interviews, participant observation, and document review, and analyzed using Moustakas’ phenomenological steps bracketing, horizontalization, thematic clustering, and essence synthesis. The findings reveal that coffee-based CBL bridges curriculum concepts with students’ lived realities by situating learning within authentic socio-economic and environmental contexts. Students reported deeper conceptual understanding, stronger sense of belonging to the agrarian community, emotional engagement, and enhanced local identity awareness. The study also shows that creativity emerged as a reflective and contextual process through students’ participation in problem-solving, idea generation, and community interaction, rather than through abstract classroom tasks. Moreover, CBL fostered learner agency, collaborative participation, and socio-cultural awareness as students actively engaged with community knowledge and practices. Overall, the study demonstrates that community-embedde ]]>
