Kasongan is emerging as handicraft village
Kasongan is emerging as handicraft village
By R. Fajri
Yogyakarta (JP): Kasongan, in the Bantul regency, is famous for producing gerabah (clay artifacts).
Flower pots, horse sculptures, chairs, ashtrays and wall decorations are made according to a specific Kasongan design -- unglazed surfaces with applied ornaments.
At least two generations have created the handicrafts, and have earned their village the label of "Handicraft Village". About 370 inhabitants make their living working for 35 entrepreneurs. The clay artifacts have reached as faraway as Australia, Japan and France. Local art centers, such as the Ancol art market in North Jakarta and the Sarinah Department Store in Central Jakarta, also sell the crafts.
One exporter is Yanto Utomo. He makes his living from clay. Like his father before him, Yanto, 35, makes clay artifacts and started his own business 1971.
He now employs 33 artisans to churn out export quality products. At least 75 percent of his goods are shipped overseas, the rest is sold on the local market. Yanto sells two full shipping containers each month, worth Rp 23 million (US$10,374.38), to his business partners in Holland, Japan, Australia and France. The local markets he targets are Bandung, Jakarta, Semarang, Surabaya and Bali.
The crafts are valued based on their size and design. A 1.5 meter pot may sell for Rp 300,000 while a 20 centimeter one may go for only Rp 2,000. A vessel shaped like two dragons may reach Rp 17,500 while a plain one costs Rp 10,000.
Most artisans work at home. Yanto supplies them with the mixture of 80 percent clay and 20 percent kaolin to keep the artifacts from cracking when baked.
Working at home does not mean producing at a leisurely pace. Yanto issues each artisan a target, for instance 30 pieces a month. The artisan is paid an agreed amount per piece. An ashtray nets him Rp 2,000 and a large pot Rp 7,500.
Pawiro Suwito's three teenage sons help him meet Yanto's targets, and earn the family Rp 1 million a month. That is an enormous amount for a village family.
"Well it's enough to survive," says Pawiro modestly. But it comes at a price -- his sons dropped out of elementary and junior high school. They prefer to spend their time earning at least Rp 300,000.
Horses
In the neighboring village of Pucung, sculpting horses has provided a living for about 26 artisans for five years.
Sihono, 45, started crafting horses, after flunking repeated efforts at pot making and glass painting. A suggestion from an artist then led the ex-pedicab driver to take up Asmat motives. He couldn't manage this so Sihono modified the design to what he now calls "Primitive sculptures of Javanese Medicine Men". He applies burnt teak to give an aged effect.
This drew a larger response and he has modified his design to make tables and chairs. A 1.5 meter table, for instance, is supported by four bending "medicine men".
The process involves 40 artisans, each sculpting a specific part. One person does the heads, another the torsos. The various parts are then assembled and held together with nails. Wages range from Rp 7,000 to Rp 10,000 per piece, and monthly earnings reach about Rp 75,000 for each worker.
A one meter round table may cost Rp 250,000, and a chair Rp 125,000. The wood is a large part of the costs, says Sihono.
He has exported to Denmark, Canada, Australia, Singapore and the United States. The orders are piled up so high that employees work overtime until 7 p.m.
"I have been loaded with orders these last two months," explained Sihono, "but I only take 10 percent of profits." He believes that it is more important to provide fellow villagers with a source of income, Sihono added.
Eight former employees have started their own sculpture business. Ngadi, who lives 100 meters away from Sihono's home, is a 25 year-old elementary school graduate who is assisted by two younger siblings to meet the demand from art-shops in Yogyakarta. He sells a 40 centimeter-high sculpture for Rp 25,000 to Rp 30,000. The 200 orders he receives should make him rich in no time.
Although Ngadi knows art-shops sell his handicrafts for four or five times the price they pay him, he doesn't complain. "I don't suffer any losses," he concluded.