Craftsman industry sinking behind other countries
Craftsman industry sinking behind other countries
The Association of Exporters and Producers of Indonesian Handicrafts (ASEPHI) and the International Finance Corporation's Program for Eastern Indonesia Small- and Medium-sized Enterprise Development (IFC-PENSA) recently held a seminar titled The Future of Bali's Handicraft Industry -- the island's second largest foreign exchange earner after tourism. The Jakarta Post's Rita A. Widiadana relates some of the issues raised in the seminar in the following article.
"Give a Balinese man a piece of wood and he will create a beautiful carving or a statue. But don't take him to the forest or he will cut down all the trees and produce handicrafts."
These words -- though to be taken with a grain of salt -- illustrate a common perception of people of Balinese ethnicity.
Although not all Balinese have the skills and talent to become an artisan, such a description is true of I Made Titib, 48, who has been a woodcarver for the last 30 years. His love of carving is evident in his works, which are of high artistic merit and ultimately "sellable".
Indeed, he has made enough money to build a beautiful Balinese-style house and to send his children to universities in Denpasar and Surabaya, East Java.
"But, that money was made a few years ago when there were a lot of tamu (foreign buyers or visitors) coming to Bali. Since 2001, Bali has been through a series of crises and only a few people have visited the village to buy our products," he said.
In the village of Mas in Gianyar, some 25 kilometers northeast of Denpasar, there are dozens or perhaps hundreds of artisans like Made Titib.
The village is Bali's major center for modern woodcarving, offering mass-produced items, made of cheap wood and priced at less than a dollar, to exquisite woodcarvings made of ebony or sandalwood priced at over US$100, to works that are valued at over a thousand dollars a piece.
A number of artisans have made good money through exporting their carvings, particularly to Japan and Australia.
The skills of the Mas craftspeople evolved over many generations. "We initially produced made-to-order items for our buyers, who came directly to our workshop here. But as buyers rarely come in person now, we have chosen to sell cheaper woodcarvings at art shops and art markets," added Nyoman Tunggal.
Mas village is but one of Bali's handicraft centers. The neighboring village of Bona is also known as a major producer of bamboo furniture and basketry. Celuk near Gianyar has been famous as a silver and gold jewelry producer, while Batubulan, Sanur and Kuta are known as wood furniture centers.
Since the early 1980s, wood products, silver and other types of handicrafts have been the province's non-oil export "prima donna", contributing more than 50 percent to its millions of US dollars of export revenue. But the revenue from these commodities experienced a downturn in the last four years.
Based on data from the Bali Trade Office, woodcarving export in 1998 reached almost US$90 million, but it dropped to only $80 million in 2004. Exports of wood furniture reached more than $40 million before the Bali bombings in 2002 and dropped to around $36 million. But exports of silver jewelry and other silver products slightly increased from an estimated $25 million in l997 to around $30 million in 2004.
For many Balinese people, making handicrafts is in their blood. While older generations of artisans used their artistic talents to produce ritual objects, musical instruments and sacred statues as part of their social and religious obligations, the younger generation is more interested in making money.
In addition, in a close-knit society such as Bali, the handicraft industry provides jobs for whole families, neighborhoods even.
As compared to the more-vulnerable tourist industry, the handicraft industry could become Bali's biggest foreign exchange earner since the island has abundant talent, though its supply of raw materials is not what it was.
The reality of the industry, however, is quite gloomy. Since 2002, many handicraft producers had to give up their businesses for various reasons, including lack of orders, financial support and inability to meet the demands of the international market.
I Gede Bagia Arta of PT Muevo Intersys identified the problems, saying that the majority of the handicraft industry in Bali -- and elsewhere in Indonesia -- had been developed under the traditional agrarian system ignoring the managerial, marketing and development plans required to survive in business.
"The global trade landscape has been changing so fast and so has the demand for handicraft products," he said. The current world market demands wholesale handicraft products with topnotch designs and product quality. Maintaining quantity, supply security and punctuality in delivery are also important to make the products marketable.
"With such a traditional approach (family management), it would be hard for any Balinese producer to keep up with the fast- changing market trends and to meet the demands of large-scale buyers," Bagia Arta commented.
According to Feraldi Loeis, IFC-PENSA's manager for handicraft export promotion, Bali's products used to be well- known for their unique designs, good quality and competitive prices.
But other countries such as Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Cambodia, Taiwan and China are producing goods of a similar quality. With less buyers coming to Bali, particularly in the post-bombing period and less exposure on the international market, Balinese products have gradually lost their competitiveness and attractiveness.
"More international buyers are now eyeing Chinese products because they are easily accessible and available on the world market," he added.
China is now dominating the world's handicraft industry supplying around 51 percent of the world's handicrafts, while Indonesia, which includes Bali, can fill only 9 percent of the market demand.