Cirebon batik gets new world record

Nana Rukmana, The Jakarta Post, Cirebon, West Java

A group of 30 traditional craftspeople in Cirebon, West Java, have succeeded in making a piece of batik cloth 130 meters in length, breaking the world's longest batik record.

The cloth, costing around Rp 20 million, was made in one continuous piece and without a single cut.

Komarudin Kudiya, who headed the project, said on Monday that the batik cloth was the longest in the world, beating the previously held record of only 106 meters by an entrepreneur from Pekalongan, Central Java.

"We hope our creativity will be listed in the Indonesian Records Museum (MURI)'s book of records. We have contacted MURI for this purpose," he said.

Komarudin said it took more than two months to produce the 130-meter batik cloth that has used traditional Cirebon motifs.

The process, including the design, was done at the traditional Cirebon batik center in Trusmi village, Weru subdistrict, Cirebon, while the finishing touches were carried out in the West Java capital of Bandung, he said.

Textile experts from several universities were involved in the finishing touches, added Komarudin, a batik entrepreneur from Cirebon.

"The batik cloth is adorned with 49 Cirebon motifs using 19 different colors. Thus, the level of difficulty is so high because it has to be done carefully on a 130-meter long piece of cloth," he said.

On Sunday, the batik was put on show at the Trusmi traditional batik carnival. During the event, the cloth was carried by around 260 people in a parade around the batik center.

"Through this program, we want to show the creativity of our younger artists who still care about such a valuable traditional heritage," Komarudin said.

He said the move to make the world's longest batik was to boost the image of the Trusmi batik industry in the northern coast area of West Java.

"Up till now, Trusmi or Cirebon batik is less popular compared to batik from Pekalongan or Surakarta (in Central Java). We hope this step will be able to boost the popularity of Trusmi batik."