Stitch in time needed to keep Trusmi batikmakers in business

Nana Rukmana, The Jakarta Post, Cirebon

Despite the fame of Indonesian batik, batikmakers across the country are struggling to stay afloat.

In the West Java town of Cirebon, a lack of promotion and marketing has made it difficult for the city's famed traditional batik -- known among batik lovers as "coastal batik" -- to reach either local or foreign markets.

Lukman, a batikmaker in Trusmi village, the city's batik center, said it had been hard for the around 200 families that relied on batik-making there to stay in the business since the country was hit by the economic crisis in 1998.

"Since the economic crisis, it's been really hard to market our products," the 38-year-old said.

Moreover, the batik industry in the area is still a home industry and management skills are virtually non-existent. "We just sell our products around the Cirebon area or wait for visiting tourists," he said.

In the hope of obtaining help with marketing, the batikmakers have asked Cirebon Regent Dedi Supardi for help.

"I've set up a team to specially tackle the problem. We have instructed the Cirebon Trade and Industry Agency to assist the batikmakers," Dedi told The Jakarta Post.

He said that based on an initial evaluation by the team, the batikmakers faced marketing problems due to a lack of professional management.

"They run their businesses in a very traditional, family manner. They don't have a market-oriented management system," Dedi said.

The batikmakers were generally passive, and waiting for buyers to come to them. "With tight competition now, they will have to expand their marketing networks to get more buyers," Dedi said.

In another effort to assist the batikmakers, the Cirebon regency administration is attempting to develop Trusmi village as a shopping destination for tourists.

"We are promoting Trusmi batik and have requested the provincial administration to help in promoting the village as a shopping destination," Dedi said.

He said that Trusmi is well-known among textile aficionados, even as far away as Australia, Japan and the U.S. "But the foreign buyers come here individually. They shop in Trusmi while visiting the country," Dedi said.

Cirebon was once a melting pot that was frequently visited by traders and scholars from China, Europe, India and Persia. Each of these influenced the designs of Cirebon batik.

Unlike batik from other parts of Java, such as Yogyakarta and Surakarta, where the dominant colors are dark brown or black and white, Cirebon batik usually has brighter color bases while its patterns and motifs are generally either connected with local folk tales or depict the area's natural landscape.

Dedi said that price is another problem in marketing Trusmi batik locally. Handmade batik is priced at between Rp 1 million (US$10) and Rp 5 million a piece.

"Most are handmade products, meaning that they are only affordable to the middle- and upper-income brackets. It's true that they also make printed batik that is cheaper, but the quantities are still limited," Dedi said.