'Silver Town' no longer shining<\/p>\n
ASIP A. HASANI, The Jakarta Post, Yogyakarta<\/p>\n
Passing silverware shops along the narrow streets of the
\nancient town of Kota Gede -- in the southeast of downtown
\nYogyakarta -- will always remind Jumali of his previous
\nsilvercraft business, which no longer exists following the
\nmonstrous blow of the economic crisis in early 1998.<\/p>\n
During the \"glory\" days, Jumali, now 43, used regularly to
\nknock on the doors of several shops on those streets to deliver
\ntheir orders of handmade silver jewelry.<\/p>\n
Every month, Jumali, who worked with the help of 10 employees,
\ncould fulfill orders worth at least Rp 10 million for the Kota
\nGede shops.<\/p>\n
One morning early this week, he was again in the town but
\ncarried no jewelry in his hands. Jumali today sells rice,
\nvegetables and other items at the Kota Gede traditional market.<\/p>\n
He purchases these from his neighbors in nearby Semoyan
\nvillage, where 80 percent of its population used to earn a living
\nas traditional silversmiths before the crisis.<\/p>\n
Most of their production went to the jewelry shops at Kota
\nGede, known among local and foreign tourists as Silver Town.<\/p>\n
\"The gravy train stopped. I can't even afford now to pay my
\nchildren's school fees,\" Jumali said.<\/p>\n
To keep his children at school, he finally had to sell all
\nthree of the motorcycles he once bought during the \"good\" days.<\/p>\n
The local government estimates that some 4,000 families in
\nKota Gede and surrounding villages, such as Semoyan, Jagalan,
\nPrenggan, Keboan and Tegalgendu, were once involved in the
\nsilverware industry during the boom days.<\/p>\n
At that time, the main streets of Kota Gede, once home to the
\nancient Mataram Kingdom, saw at least 40 silverware shops
\ntrading.<\/p>\n
\"Now, about half of the shops are already closed,\" Sutojo,
\ndeputy chief of Yogyakarta Production Cooperative of
\nSilverware Entrepreneurs (KP3Y), told The Jakarta
\nPost early this week.<\/p>\n
The crisis, which hit the country in mid-1997, abruptly took
\nthe shine off the silvercraft business in Kota Gede.<\/p>\n
And the most badly affected party was home industries
\nbelonging to the villagers like Jumali, as they could no longer
\nafford to purchase the raw materials.<\/p>\n
\"Before the crisis, the unprocessed silver cost between Rp
\n380,000 and Rp 400,000 per kilogram (kg). Then when the crisis
\nstarted to cripple our economy, the material went up to between
\nRp 1.5 million and Rp 3 million per kg,\" Sutojo explained.<\/p>\n
The skyrocketing price of the material was an inevitable
\nconsequence of the rupiah's depreciation against the U.S. dollar.<\/p>\n
The price for other materials used in the silvercraft
\nindustry has also soared. Velvet, for example, has tripled from
\nRp 6,000 to Rp 18,000 per meter, and glue jumped from Rp 8,500 to
\nRp 40,000 per tin.<\/p>\n
According to KP3Y's database, almost half of the silverware
\nproduction of Kota Gede and its surroundings is shipped for
\nexport, with another half for the local market.<\/p>\n
\"However, domestic sales have been in sharp decline since the
\ncrisis,\" Sutojo said.<\/p>\n
The other significant factor that pushed the industry to its
\ncurrently gloomy state was the significant drop of foreign
\ntourist arrivals in Indonesia.<\/p>\n
\"The silverware industry here used to consume at least 200 kg
\nof unprocessed silver per month. Now, we only use some 100 kg,\"
\nSutojo went on.<\/p>\n
In contrast, overseas orders for Kota Gede silverware were
\nprobably not affected by the crisis. Data compiled by the
\nprovincial office of trade and industry reveals that the export
\nvalue has been relatively stable, at US$ 913,234 in 1996,
\n$893,924 (1997), $1.04 million (1998), $ 796,704 (1999) and $1.4
\nmillion in 2000.<\/p>\n
The figure for this year, however, might be another grim story
\nas in the first seven months the value was only $304,276.<\/p>\n
But Sutojo firmly believed that overseas markets are still
\nwide open for Kota Gede silversmiths. However, he acknowledged
\nthat the scarcity of capital would remain the most crucial
\nproblem for small silverware businesses here.<\/p>\n
Like the existing silversmiths, Sutojo also wondered whether
\nMegawati Soekarnoputri's administration could create a better and
\nmore stable economic situation to ignite the dying silver
\nindustry of Kota Gede.<\/p>\n
Locals also worried that the U.S. military attacks against
\nAfghanistan following the Sept. 11 attacks on America would
\nfurther worsen their business, which had been handed down from
\ngeneration to generation since the 17th century.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/silver-town-no-longer-shining-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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