At home with Indonesia

At home with Indonesia

Thang D. Nguyen, Contributor, Jakarta

Title: Made in Indonesia: A Tribute to the Country's Craftspeople

Author: Warwick Purser

Publisher: Equinox Publishing

Date of Publication: September 2005

Length: 157 pages

Judged by its cover, size, and shape, Made in Indonesia looks
just like any other coffee-table book on Indonesia -- one with
lots of pictures of Balinese resorts, beautiful Javanese houses,
or rice fields, and a short introduction, if any. But it's not!

While Made in Indonesia has many great pictures, they are not
the key feature of the book. Rather, they accompany and help the
author explain and illustrate in his own words how Indonesians
make world-class handcrafted products, using natural and recycled
waste materials and, of course, their hands.

Simply put, it is nothing less than amazing to see in this
book how bamboo, palm trees, seashells, recycled newspapers and
steel are turned into elegant, stylish and classy handbags,
shoes, picture frames, dining ware, furniture and a variety of
interior accessories in the hands of Indonesian craftspeople.

While there are many books about Indonesia -- ranging from
history, politics, puppetry (wayang kulit), coffee and clove
cigarettes (kretek), to the nightlife in Jakarta and "crazy"
foreigners (bule gila, or bugil) living in the country -- there
has not been one that is devoted entirely to Indonesian
craftsmanship. Thus, the timing of Made in Indonesia makes it a
significant publication.

What is most significant about this book, though, is the story
of its author, Warwick Purser, and how he has come to build "Out
of Asia", an exporting business of handicrafts made in Indonesia
to markets worldwide.

About 10 years ago, Mr. Purser -- a lanky Aussie who describes
himself as an Indonesianized bule -- came to Tembi, a village
area on the outskirts of Yogyakarta, central Java, where he saw
an opportunity to build an enterprise that would be profitable
and benefit the local community at the same time.

"When I first moved to Tembi, the streets were unpaved. Many
of the houses [there] were sadly in need of repair. Many families
could not afford to buy day-to-day basics ... or provide
education. It would seem that there were very few assets that
could ensure any degree of continuous and sustainable living," he
writes.

There was, however, one asset: "the ability Indonesians have
to create almost anything and everything with their hands. Tembi
was no exception. However, while the skills were there, they were
not being properly utilized. My challenge was to revitalize this
talent in an effort to improve their standard of living."

Today, Out of Asia produces handcrafted accessories for some
of the finest shops in the world and employs thousands of
Indonesians. So, in doing well as a business, Out of Asia does
good for the community -- that which we call corporate social
responsibility or socially responsible investment.

But what is most significant about Made in Indonesia is that
it helps bring Indonesia to the world in a positive way and
thereby contributes to a better, more informed understanding of
Indonesia as a nation of great diversity, whether it be natural
resources, cultures or otherwise.

Despite its geography, diversity and greatness, Indonesia is
probably the least known or understood -- if not the most
misunderstood -- nation in the world.

For many people in other parts of the world, Indonesia is part
of Bali, if they know where the latter is. How many people know
that Indonesia is the world's fourth-most populous country, the
largest archipelago, the largest Muslim-majority nation and, more
importantly, the third-largest democracy?

For one thing, the poor understanding of Indonesia in the
world is because of the lack of a largely overdue public
relations campaign that promotes (or sells) Indonesia abroad to
tourists, investors, and people who, otherwise, could be
interested in visiting, doing business, or living in Indonesia.
Seriously, how can Malaysia be more "truly Asia" than Indonesia,
given the latter's wealth of natural resources and diversity?

What's more, people in many parts of the world, especially
Australia and the West, tend to have a negative image of
Indonesia. For them, the name Indonesia is a synonym for
terrorism, corruption, or radical Muslims, among other things.

While Indonesia does face these immense challenges, there are
success stories about it that the world often doesn't hear;
positive qualities about it that the world often doesn't see; and
nice Indonesians that the world often doesn't meet.

For the most part, this is because what is shown of Indonesia
in the international media is usually bad news, which, of course,
sells better than good news.

And because of this so-called CNN effect, people will remember
and associate Indonesia with such terrorist attacks as the
bombings of Bali, both in 2002 and last week, of the JW Marriot
Jakarta Hotel in 2003, and of the Australian Embassy last year.

But how many people have seen on TV or read in the news about
the successful transformation of the world's largest Muslim-
majority nation in the past seven years from 32 years of
dictatorship into the world's third largest democracy?

And, for that matter, a few years from now, how many people
will remember the Asian tsunami that devastated Indonesia, among
other countries, last December?

This is why Made in Indonesia is a timely, relevant, and
therefore, meaningful book. Not only does it celebrate Indonesian
craftsmanship and introduce it to people all over the world, it
also shows positive aspects of Indonesia that they don't know or
haven't seen.

Mark Twain once quipped: "Wagner's music is better than it
sounds." The same is true with Indonesia: The world just has to
listen more attentively!

Mr. Thang D. Nguyen is the Program Director at the Jakarta-
based United in Diversity Forum (www.unitedindiversity.org). He
is also an op-ed columnist, whose writing can be read at
http://thangthecolumnist.blogspot.com.