Toiling traditional batikmakers worry about the future<\/p>\n
By Rita A. Widiadana<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Inah has been a batikmaker in Kauman village,
\nYogyakarta for more than 50 years.<\/p>\n
She spends most of her day sitting on a mat, drawing a large
\nvariety of batik patterns with her canting (wax applier), to
\nproduce hand-painted batik.<\/p>\n
\"I've mastered all traditional batik patterns of the
\nYogyakartan style and remember them by heart. All the lines, dots
\nand motifs flow out easily from my memory,\" said the 65-year-old,
\nwho started drawing when she was eight years old.<\/p>\n
Inah is deeply saddened that she has not able to pass on her
\nskills, which she inherited from her mother and grandmother. She
\nwants to share her expertise, but nobody wants to follow her
\nprofession, not even her own children.<\/p>\n
\"In the past, many young and old women worked as batikmakers.
\nBut now, this village is quite empty. Young women have rushed to
\nJakarta and other big cities to work as housemaids or laborers in
\nfactories. I cannot blame them, because life as a batikmaker is
\nvery discouraging now,\" Inah said.<\/p>\n
To produce a piece of low-quality batik, Inah spends at most
\nRp 15,000 ($7) on the materials and spends up to seven days to
\nfinish it. She can double her expenditure, selling the cloth for
\nup to Rp 30,000 a piece. For high-quality batik tulis (hand-
\npainted batik), she can charge from Rp 300,000 to Rp 1 million a
\npiece.<\/p>\n
\"I have to spend three to eight months to finish one piece of
\nprime quality batik tulis,\" Inah said.<\/p>\n
According to Teguh Djiwanto, a professor of rural economics at
\nJendral Soedirman University in Purwokerto, Central Java, most
\nJavanese batikmakers earn between Rp 905 and Rp 2,000 a day. This
\nis below the government-set minimum wages of Rp 3,200 to Rp 5,200
\na day.<\/p>\n
Djiwanto, also a batik expert, said development projects have
\nattracted rural youngsters, including those living in batik
\ncenters, to move to the cities.<\/p>\n
\"They think that working in factories and other projects offer
\nmore sizable incomes and promising careers. This also happens in
\nagriculture. More and more young men are leaving their rice
\nfields to work as unskilled labors in urban areas,\" the professor
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
What bothers Inah most is that centuries-old batik-making
\nskills are fading.<\/p>\n
\"For me, making a batik cloth is an expression of my heart and
\nsoul. But I am getting old now and many batikmakers here are all
\nold women. If we die, nobody will produce fine batik tulis. This
\nmeans that batik tulis will soon die with us,\" she said.<\/p>\n
Inah is not alone in her concern. There are thousands of other
\nwomen like Inah in batik-producing villages in the country. The
\nbatik centers of Pekalongan and Banyumas in Central Java, Madura,
\nTuban and Banyuwangi in East Java, and Cirebon, Tasikmalaya and
\nGarut in West Java are dying from a lack craftspeople and
\nmaterials.<\/p>\n
H. Abdullah, a batik entrepreneur from Pekalongan, said it is
\ndifficult to find skilled batikmakers to support his business.<\/p>\n
\"In the l960s and early l970s, I employed more than 100 tulis
\nand cap (press) batikmakers. Now, I can only find five people,
\nall of them are in their 60s,\" he said.<\/p>\n
In Banyumas, a top batik centers in Central Java, the number
\nof batik sellers dropped from l05 in the l970s to only 15 in
\nl993.<\/p>\n
Steps<\/p>\n
The government tried improve batikmakers and to boost batik
\nselling because batik is a potential non-oil export. The value of
\nbatik exported from Central Java rose from only $5.4 million in
\nl989 to $13.13 million in l993.<\/p>\n
A non-profit organization, the Indonesian Batik Foundation,
\nhas taken steps to increase production. The foundation was
\nestablished in l994.<\/p>\n
Yultin Harlotina Ginandjar Kartasasmita, chairperson of the
\nfoundation, said batik making is now just a production process to
\nmeet market demands. It is no longer the artistic expression of
\nthe makers.<\/p>\n
\"Many batikmakers are working hard simply to meet the demand
\nof the market and businesses. Their working conditions are still
\nvery bad. Moreover, they can never express the beauty of batik
\nand the philosophy behind the art in their works,\" she said.<\/p>\n
Due to market pressure, many batik designs and patterns have
\nbeen developed but they lack feeling.<\/p>\n
\"Unlike old motifs, which are rich in symbols and images of
\nthe people who produced them, the new motifs comprise only lines
\nand ornaments,\" Yultin said.<\/p>\n
Yosephine W. Komara explained that batik producers and
\nbusinesses are responsible for the lack of appreciation for
\nbatik.<\/p>\n
\"Batik is now popular and widely used for various purposes,
\nbut many people and the producers do not known the name of each
\nbatik motif, let alone the philosophy behind it,\" said Yosephine,
\none of Indonesia's top batik producers and designers.<\/p>\n
Many batik manufacturers, especially those who produce printed
\ntextiles with batik motifs, are too money-oriented.<\/p>\n
\"They produce money from batik, but they don't care about the
\nlife of batikmakers. Many of them are even irresponsible, they
\nsteal many batik patterns from batikmakers in the villages as
\nwell as from batik designers and produce them in large quantity,\"
\nsaid Yosephine.<\/p>\n
Ideally, all batik producers would learn about each batik
\npattern and educate their buyers about the patterns.<\/p>\n
\"They can also set aside part of their profits for the welfare
\nof batikmakers. It is just a matter of moral obligation,\" said
\nYosephine.<\/p>\n
Many people, she said, think that batik is a handicraft, and
\ntherefore has a similar economic value.<\/p>\n
\"Batik is actually an avant garde art. The process of making a
\npiece of batik is very complicated. It requires sophisticated
\ntechniques and skills in addition to patience and sincerity. It
\ntakes about eight months to produce this batik,\" she said,
\npointing at her kain panjang (batik cloth).<\/p>\n
The development of batik designs and production should
\ndirectly benefit batikmakers, she said.<\/p>\n
Objectives<\/p>\n
The batik foundation aims to improve the welfare of
\nbatikmakers and provide more information on batik to the public.<\/p>\n
Dipo Alam, secretary-general of the foundation, explained that
\nthe foundation has set up a number of programs to reach its
\ngoals. Last year, for instance, it began cooperating with the
\nBalai Batik design and development center in Yogyakarta and the
\nBalai Tekstil design and development center in Bandung in a
\nspecial project to maintain existing batik designs and develop
\nnew processes and designs. The project, funded by the Asian
\nDevelopment Bank, also involves a number of local batik designers
\ngrouped in the Indonesian Designer Association.<\/p>\n
\"Currently, we are developing batik designs on wool. Indonesia
\nhas already succeeded in creating silk batik,\" Dipo said.<\/p>\n
The foundation, in cooperation with state agencies such as the
\nministry of trade and industry, also helps small-scale batik
\nproducers to expand their businesses.<\/p>\n
\"If their businesses expand, the lives of their batikmakers
\nwill improve,\" Dipo said.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/toiling-traditional-batikmakers-worry-about-the-future-1447893297",
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