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.