<![CDATA[Indonesia's sharia banking sector has expanded rapidly following the merger that formed Bank Syariah Indonesia (BSI), yet public understanding of the core deposit contracts of wadiah and mudharabah remains limited outside major urban centers. This gap is evident in Pelindu, Karangrejo Urban Village, Sumbersari District, Jember Regency, where many residents still perceive sharia savings as merely a relabeled interest-bearing product. This community service program aimed to improve public literacy regarding the contractual mechanisms, benefits, and sharia compliance of wadiah and mudharabah savings, and to correct misconceptions equating profit-sharing (nisbah) with riba. The program was implemented through a participatory approach adapted from Participatory Action Research, involving direct outreach, interactive discussion, and pretest-posttest evaluation with eight young residents, most of whom were students. Results show a substantial increase in average achievement scores across all measured aspects: knowledge of sharia savings products rose from 22% to 89%, comprehension of the wadiah contract from 25% to 91%, comprehension of the mudharabah contract from 15% to 84%, and interest in using sharia products from 30% to 80%. Afterward, four participants preferred wadiah and three preferred mudharabah, a fairly balanced pattern. These findings indicate that structured, face-to-face financial education reinforced by field practitioner experience can narrow the literacy gap and strengthen community trust toward sharia financial institutions. Given the small number of participants, the model is best viewed as a starting point for similar semi-urban localities rather than a proven formula.]]>
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