Tamansari Water palace finds new role as batik center

Tamansari Water palace finds new role as batik center

By Gin Kurniawan

YOGYAKARTA (JP): A visit to Yogyakarta will no doubt bring
about a recommendation to visit the Tamansari Water Palace,
located close to the kraton royal residence.

The now dilapidated building was once the place where the
royal family of the Mataram Kingdom escaped to relax. It was
constructed in the 18th century during the reign of Sultan
Hamengkubuwono I as part of the royal complex.

Tamansari must have looked extraordinary during its heyday. It
had an underground excavation similar to a tunnel, with routes
leading off in various directions. There was also an area called
the segaran hosting an artificial lake. The royals would sail
there and dock their boats at the Pogangan Manuk Beri.

There were also pools for courtiers and other residents of the
kraton, divided according to social status.

Although Tamansari has not been well maintained, it continues
to attract both local and foreign visitors who want to travel
back in time.

The tourism office at the kraton records monthly totals of
between 6,500 and 7,000 visitors to Tamansari, with an increase
recorded at holidays.

The tourists also bring with them economic benefits for the
people in the surrounding area, especially in the promotion of
batik handicrafts which has been developed into a thriving
industry.

More than half of the 450 families in the kampong not only
make and sell batik, but also teach visitors the intricate
process of producing the fabric. The association has grown so
strong that others refer to the area as the batik kampong.

Making batik is the lifeblood of the area. The locals have
also opened art galleries, each of which employs from two to five
people. Their innovation has paid off in higher earnings for the
residents from their neighbors in the area; in a month, artists
claim they make about Rp 1 million each.

Mujido, 76, an elementary school drop-out, said he earns about
Rp 1.5 million a month. "What's important is that you are
industrious and have the skill to make batik," he said.

The people enjoy the additional advantage of living on land
owned by the royal residence. They are only required to pay a
nominal fee of around Rp 3,000 a year.

"We are lucky because we live in a strategic spot where we can
run our business," Mujido acknowledged.

Much of the income of residents is derived from teaching
foreign tourists. Each student is charged between Rp 7,500 and Rp
10,000 a day.

The tourists can also learn the art of batik in a course run
by Hadjir Digdodarmojo, 66, a retired elementary school teacher.
A sign reading "Intensive Batik Course" is posted in front of his
house. The batik school is located a few steps from the entrance
to the Tamansari Water Palace.

Hadjir said that he was inspired to open the batik course in
1970 when he met a couple of tourists from Thailand. They wanted
to learn about the art but could not find a course.

At a cost of US$35, tourists can learn about the history of
batik, the technique of applying wax to the fabric and other
batik fundamentals. The fee covers materials for the three-day
course.

"I give intensive lessons so that they will be able to make
batik after the course is over," Hadjir said.

He added that he only provides the basics to the around 15
foreign tourists who take the course each month. "If they want to
learn more, we can send them to other places."

Most of the foreigners are motivated by curiosity about making
batik as their own countries do not have the courses. Others want
to run a batik business or to become a batik artist, like Fritz
Donart, a graphic artist from Austria who is a former Hadjir
student.

Donart travels to Indonesia once every two years to find
inspiration for batik motifs. He has exhibited the batik
paintings he made during his stay in Jakarta and in Yogyakarta in
1994.

Hadjir said he had taught hundreds of tourists from Austria,
America, Australia, France, Germany, Canada, Japan and Korea.

The business has improved Hadjir's life. He has renovated his
house, which was formerly made of bamboo, and was able to send
his four children to college. Three of them have graduated.

In 1983 he visited Melbourne upon the invitation of a former
student, who wanted Hadjir to teach his parents.

"They were enthusiastic," he remembers.