Kembangan's guitar industry favors quantity

Kembangan's guitar industry favors quantity

Kartika Bagus C., The Jakarta Post, Surakarta, Central Java

The guitar, perhaps, is the most familiar musical instrument
known by most people. But few have any idea where in Indonesia,
these popular instruments are made.

One of the simplest means of modern music, guitars are
produced mainly in a remote village in Kembangan, Sukoharjo in
Central Java, some 10 kilometers southwest of Surakarta. With
about 400 craftsmen, the village has become a center for the
guitar manufacturing industry.

The increasing number of craftsmen, however, has somewhat
lowered the quality of Kembangan's products. As is the case with
most home industries, this center prioritizes quantity over
quality, and creativity is often lost.

The Kembangan guitar industry started to develop in 1961, when
many local residents, who worked as cheap factory workers in
Surakarta, found a lucrative business in guitar-making.

Now, the guitar industry serves as the residents' main source
of livelihood, with over Rp 500 million in monthly turnover.

According to Wiyono, one of the local craftsmen, the turnover
can still increase if the craftsmen work harder.

"Our guitars are being sold all across Java," said Saji, 31,
who has been in the business for over five years. Saji, who
learned the skill from his parents, is assisted by three workers
in his home.

Wiyono, with the help of his workers, could produce some 300
to 350 guitars per month with a profit of between Rp 3,000 and Rp
5,000 per guitar.

"I send my products to shops as far as Bandung and Jakarta,"
said Wiyono, whose products bear the trademark of Indomusic.

So far, there's no standard in the price of guitars.

"Most craftsmen here have only a small amount of working
capital so they hope their products will be sold right away so
they can use the money to produce more guitars," Wiyono said.

As the industry's pioneer, Wiyono has tried many times to
gather craftsmen in his village to set up a cooperative unit but
without success.

A cooperative, he asserts, would enable the craftsmen to
standardize the price and quality of Kembangan-made guitars.
Without the price standard, it is shops in big cities which will
reap big profits for buying the guitars at cheap prices from the
craftsmen and sell them to the public for much higher prices,
Wiyono said.