Kebumen roofing tiles a precarious source of income<\/p>\n
Singgir Kartana, Contributor\/Kebumen<\/p>\n
Kebumen has long been known as the center of the roofing tile
\nindustry with thousands of small, medium and large businesses in
\nthe regency.<\/p>\n
Yet, the business is not as lucrative as it appears. Problems
\nranging from a decline in business orders to environmental damage
\nhave been shadowing it for the last few years.<\/p>\n
There has been a significant drop in business orders. This is
\nmostly due to the emergence of similar roofing tile suppliers in
\nother parts of the country such as Jatiwangi, West Java, and
\nKarangpilang, East Java, in addition to the toll taken by the
\neconomic crisis in 1997.<\/p>\n
During the crisis, from which the country has yet to make a
\nfull recovery, the roofing tile industry was among the most
\naffected, especially because the housing industry -- its main
\nmarket -- was also adversely affected by the crisis.<\/p>\n
Many business owners reported that orders had declined by up
\nto 60 percent due to the crisis and the heightened competition in
\nthe industry.<\/p>\n
\"Before the economic downturn, I could sell up to 600,000
\nroofing tiles per month. Now I'm lucky if I can sell 200,000 a
\nmonth,\" explained M Fuad, a roofing tile businessman from
\nPetanahan.<\/p>\n
Marketing has also been a problem, for most tile producers in
\nthe region, as many are focused more on production than
\nmarketing. As a result, piles of roofing tiles have often
\naccumulated at the point of production.<\/p>\n
Desperate producers are often forced to drop prices to rock-
\nbottom levels, an unable to turn a profit. In Kedawung, for
\nexample, there used to be several hundred producers, but now
\nthere are just 195, who have managed to keep operating.<\/p>\n
Finally, in 2002 the business started to show signs of
\nrecovery with the establishment of dozens of new producers.<\/p>\n
From a quality point of view, accordingly, there has also been
\na decline, especially due to the decreasing quality of raw
\nmaterials used.<\/p>\n
With over 3,800 roofing tile businesses of all sizes operating
\nin the region, the clay needed for the industry here is more than
\n750,000 cubic meters per month. So far, rice fields have been the
\nmost favorite source of clay.<\/p>\n
However, unregulated and unmanaged quarrying of clay has not
\nonly caused environmental problems, but also a decrease in the
\nquality. A reduced kaolinite content in the clay has resulted in
\nfewer high-quality roofing tiles.<\/p>\n
It is for these particular reasons that the Kebumen regency
\nadministration has linked up with the Japan International
\nCooperation Agency (JICA) to deal with the problems related to
\nthe supply of raw materials.<\/p>\n
For problems related to marketing, the local Development
\nPlanning Agency (Bappeda) is searching for potential markets
\noutside Java.<\/p>\n
The roofing tile industry in Kebumen began during colonial
\ntimes, following the discovery of clay with a high kaolinite
\ncontent in the region in 1910 by two Dutch officers, Van der Sook
\nand Vlams, who then used it as the raw material for producing
\nroofing tiles and ceramic items.<\/p>\n
They established the first roofing tile business in Kebumen in
\nthe village of Pejagoan, and employed locals as workers.<\/p>\n
The first roofing tile produced was what is locally known as
\ngenteng kodok, quite thick tiles, which were sold in Batavia (as
\nJakarta was known as that time). The Dutch Administration later
\nused these types of tiles for all the roofs of train stations
\nbuilt in Java.<\/p>\n
In 1913, the first roofing tile factory belonging to an
\nindigenous businessman was established in Soka subdistrict and
\nnamed AB Sokka. After 10 years, dozens of industrial centers
\nproducing similar roofing tiles had emerged in the region.<\/p>\n
\"At that time, producers used only manual equipment, not
\nmolding machines like they do now present,\" said Basuki of
\nKebumen Cooperatives and Industrial Office.<\/p>\n
Since that time, many more businesspeople got involved until
\nthe number of producers ran into the thousands at its peak in the
\n1980s, when the government eased access to banks.<\/p>\n
It was during that time that Sokka roofing tiles, as the
\nproducts were known, became a booming industry in the region,
\nboth in volume and number of producers. It was also during that
\ntime that modern, high-capacity production machinery began to be
\nemployed in the region.<\/p>\n
Consequently, the need for more raw materials rose sharply.
\nRice fields became a favored source of raw materials for the
\nproduction of roofing tiles.<\/p>\n
At least 4,000 producers were operating in the region. They
\ncould be found in the subdistricts of Pejagoan, Sruweng, Klirong,
\nAdimulyo and Petanahan.<\/p>\n
Some successful producers including Agus Subekti, Nurhadiyanto
\nand Iman Sukardi were established during that period.<\/p>\n
According to data from the regency's Cooperatives and Industry
\nOffice, currently over 3,800 roofing tile business units of all
\nsizes exist in the regency.<\/p>\n
They produce over 600 million tiles with a value of more than
\nRp 270 billion and generate a pretax income of over Rp 90 billion
\nper year.<\/p>\n
Such a booming business should be a potential source of income
\nfor the regency. However, Basuki of the Kebumen Cooperative and
\nIndustrial Office said it was not, because of the fact that only
\nabout 25 percent of the existing roofing tile businesses were
\nformal business institutions.<\/p>\n
The remainder are just informal, cottage industries, which
\nmakes it is difficult for the local government to generate tax
\nfrom them.<\/p>\n
\"The business also fluctuates greatly. A previously large,
\ntax-paying business unit, for example, can go bankrupt in just a
\nfew months, making it difficult for the government to calculate
\nthe tax contribution of the business as a whole,\" Basuki said.<\/p>\n
From the manpower point of view, the business has absorbed
\nover 48,000 workers, most of whom are women, and has supported
\nalmost 1.5 million people in the region if each worker is assumed
\nto support, on average, three other people in their family.<\/p>\n
Further examination, however, reveals that the figure is not
\nthat great. That is because the wages paid to the workers are
\nquite low, at only Rp 6,000 to Rp 7,000 per day per worker
\n(approximately Rp 160,000 (US$18) per month).<\/p>\n
In other words, the business has yet to provide genuine
\neconomic security to local people and only the
\nentrepreneurs\/owners enjoy a real benefit from the industry.<\/p>\n
\"It's not surprising that the younger generation is reluctant
\nto work in the sector. They prefer to go to big cities like
\nJakarta to look for work, or even abroad as migrant workers,\"
\nMariam, 31, a labor activist said.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/kebumen-roofing-tiles-a-precarious-source-of-income-1447893297",
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