Cepogo offers alluring copper handicrafts

By R. Agus Bakti

YOGYAKARTA (JP): Attractive handicrafts always boost the popularity of the places where they are produced. Tumang village in the Cepogo area, 15 km west of Boyolali regency in Central Java, is one of them. The place is known for its copper handicrafts and most of the village's residents work as craftsmen in this industry.

According to one of the craftsmen, Supri Haryanto, the copper industry in the village has been going for hundreds of years.

"The craft has been inherited and preserved from one generation to the next generation," the 49-year-old man said.

The existence of copper handicrafts cannot be separated from the Islamic Mataram kingdom. The ancestors of Cepogo's villagers were Yogyakarta's residents, descendants of Mataram people.

Since the villagers were originally from Mataram, the articles being produced are mostly in the form of rings and arm bands. They also create traditional handmade home appliances, such as kettles, cooking pots and steamers.

Supri, a junior high school graduate, first learned the skills to create copper handicrafts from his grandfather. At that time, he had no choice but to work as a copper craftsman given that it was so difficult for his parents to finance his education.

With Rp 10,000 as his initial capital, he bought some copper plates. However, he only had the skills to produce several traditional appliances.

After getting married, he became more creative as he had to earn more money to support his family. Then, in the early 1980s, he started creating artistic handicrafts, such as household ornaments.

While developing his products, Supri managed to learn from Yogyakarta's craftsman Saptohudaya. He also studied designs and motifs at the Center for Arts Teachers Development. He even went to Jakarta before returning to his village in 1984 to develop his copper handicraft business.

The artistic copper work turned out to be a successful venture and even survived amid the difficult economic climate. The business now enables Supri to support his family.

In addition to the usual household appliances, there are also copper umbrella stands, flower vases, calligraphy works, lamp stands and other wall decorations.

Motifs

Motifs of copper handicrafts are not that different from batik or wooden craft motifs. Most of them depict flora and fauna. But the motifs can also be made based on customers' tastes.

The specific characteristics which make copper handicrafts different come from the production process.

"Most of the works are handmade and created using simple equipment such as hammers and pliers," Supri explained.

Cepogo's specific techniques of producing copper handicrafts are babaran and kenteng. In these techniques, the copper plates are knocked to produce the desired motifs.

A craftsman can usually complete a medium-sized piece in three days, while bigger pieces take longer to make.

The copper used to create the pieces is available in big cities, such as Semarang, Surabaya and Surakarta.

The economic crisis, however, increased the price of copper by up to four times the original price, with a kilogram of copper now costing between Rp 40,000 and Rp 50,000.

Despite the price hike, there have been few problems with orders from such places as Australia, Japan and the United States continuing to rush in.

"Right now, I have an order from the United States for various commodities with Asmat motifs," Supri said.

He explained that his overseas consumers like handmade products featuring copper's natural color, although they can get painted ones if they want to.

With the prices of finished products ranging from Rp 25,000 to Rp 100,000 each, his monthly turn-over can reach up to Rp 40 million.

In running his business, Supri displays his finished products on the second floor of his house for interested visitors and prospective buyers to look at, or they can also watch the production process which is done by his 10 workers.

Supri said that he works together with around 100 craftsmen in Cepogo. "In all, there are more than 1,400 craftsmen here," he said.

Despite the flourishing business of copper decoration, it does not mean the craftsmen are no longer producing house appliances. It is the production of house appliances, such as cooking pots and kettles, which help Cepogo's survival.

The presence of copper craftsmen in the village makes it attractive to the tourist eye.

"I really want to make this area a tourist village. This place is no less attractive than a big city," Supri said, adding that visitors will find no problem getting to the village either by public transportation or privately from Semarang, Surakarta or Yogyakarta.