Buying directly from producers, why not...

Sri Wahyuni, The Jakarta Post, Yogyakarta

If you feel confused about which handicrafts to bring home from your visit to Yogyakarta, don't be ashamed. You have all the reason to feel that way.

The large assortment of charming handicrafts that this ancient city offers, the numerous showrooms and the shops that offer them, not to mention the relatively good prices, are simply staggering and, frankly, hard to resist.

Yogyakarta is certainly a shoppers' paradise. You can find handicrafts in almost every corner of the city, ranging from the air-conditioned showrooms and star-rated hotels to the small kiosks and vendors along Yogyakarta's streets, including the legendary Jl. Malioboro right in the heart of the city and Prawirotaman village in the south part of the city.

You can also find handicrafts sold at many tourist destinations, mostly by street vendors, including the Hindu temple of Prambanan on the eastern outskirts of Yogyakarta and at Yogyakarta palace.

"But you need to be very careful when deciding on which handicrafts to buy from street vendors, especially regarding the price and the quality of goods they offer," Mohammad Abadi of Yogyakarta's Apikri Foundation advised shoppers.

Although street vendors offer handicrafts that seem to look the same and have the same price, theirs might be a copy that is of a lower quality, he warned.

Abadi therefore suggested that the best way to purchase high quality handicraft products at a relatively rational price was by buying directly from the producers in the villages. That, too, would enable shoppers to get a closer look as to how the products were made.

"Unless you are sure about the quality and that you have a good bargain, you will end up with a handicraft of inferior quality at a much higher price when you buy from the street vendors," he said.

The variety of handicrafts that Yogyakarta offers is limitless, ranging from easy-to-pack souvenirs as small as a key chain to memorable items that require shipping, such as life-size statues or two-meter-high earthenware jugs. Also in unlimited supply are the materials used to make the handicrafts.

These include wood, silver, bamboo, shells, ceramics, leather, cloth and natural fibers, such as pandanus leaves, fragrant root, agel (a plant), enceng gondok ( water plant), rami (jute), and banana bunch stems.

Wood can easily turn into puppets, masks, loro blonyo (traditional Javanese groom and bride) statuettes, animal miniatures and functional souvenirs, such as tissue holders, jewelry boxes and ashtrays. Among the most famous wooden handicraft centers include Bobung in the Pathuk district of Gunungkidul regency, and Kerebet in Pajangan, Bantul regency, which is also one of the regency's well-known tourist attractions.

Bobung, which is located some 28 kilometers southeast of Yogyakarta, is home to hundreds of wooden handicraft makers. Almost every family in this village has one or more of its members working in this particular business sector. The monthly turnover of the village's wooden handicraft business reportedly reaches billions of rupiah.

"I earned a gross income of Rp 121 million last year (2001)," Sujiman, one of Bobung's craftsmen, said.

Although most of the handicraft products are exported or sent to other tourist regions, mostly Bali and Jakarta, and many of the handicraft makers do not have showrooms, they will sell to tourists or allow them to watch how the handicrafts are made.

Finding this village of 78,000 hectares and a population of 460 was not difficult. You only need to follow the Yogyakarta- Wonosari road and turn left at the Sambipitu intersection at the 25th kilometer. Bobung is just three kilometers away from the intersection.

There you can visit one or more of the six different groups of Bobung handicraft makers of Karya Manunggal, Bina Karya, Bina Usaha, Hasta Karya, Sanggar Mulyo or Panji Sejati, who will warmly greet you.

If silver is your preference, however, Kotagede, which is located just a few kilometers southeast of Yogyakarta, is the best choice. Although you may also be able to find silver work in the city, you will find a much larger choice of silver in Kotagede, or the city of silver as it is also referred to.

Most of the silver work showrooms are located along both sides of Jl. Mondorakan, Kotagede's main street. Visitors and buyers can have a look at how handicrafts are made in the showrooms as most of them also give demonstrations. However, many of the local silver craftsmen do their work at home.

Kasongan village in Bantul regency, some 10 kilometers south of here, offers different kinds of handicrafts. Initially, it was just a ceramics handicraft center as most of its villagers are skilled at making ceramics. However, as time went by, the village developed into a market where visitors can also buy handicrafts other than ceramics.

"You can also find leather work here, but it is of course not as complete as what a leather work center would offer," said Yayuk, a visitor at Kasongan, who mentioned Bugisan village, in Wirobrajan, Yogyakarta's municipality, as one of the only few leather work centers left in the province.

While the ceramic work centers, including Kasongan and Pundong, also in Bantul regency, are developing, many of the leather craftsmen in their respective centers have stopped business activities, mostly due to a drop in business orders. Leather craftsmen in Manding village, the center of production for leather bags and shoes, and Gendeng village, the leather puppet center, both in Bantul regency, are two examples.

"But you can still find a few craftsmen who continue to produce handicrafts in these two villages," Abadi told the Jakarta Post.

A village that is also worth visiting is Imogiri, some 20 kilometers east of here, which is home to hundreds of traditional batik makers. Shoppers can buy a sheet of handmade cotton batik for Rp 350,000 to Rp 500,000 (about US$59), depending on the quality of the batik print and the cotton.

"But you may not be able to find silk batik there. It's all cotton as far as I know," said Etty Larasati, a regular visitor to the batik craftsmen in Imogiri, adding that batik showrooms and galleries in the city would be the right place for shoppers to find fine handmade silk batik.

Other handicraft centers where visitors can find good products at the best price include Malangan and Nanggulan, both in Kulonprogo, which are centers for handicrafts made of natural fibers or plants, such as bags, shoes, slippers and boxes of all sizes and for different functions. While Minggir in Sleman regency, some 20 kilometers west of here, and Dlingo in Bantul regency are centers for bamboo handicrafts.