Under the shade of paper umbrellas in Juwiring village

Under the shade of paper umbrellas in Juwiring village

By R. Agus Bakti

KLATEN, Central Java (JP): Despite the modern age they live
in, some of the residents of Juwiring village, Klaten regency,
still make umbrellas from used cement bags, a tradition that has
been going on in this village for many years.

No wonder the village, which offers its beautiful panorama of
a wide extent of rice fields, is also dubbed a "village of
umbrellas".

Pak Jaya, 61, one of the umbrella makers, said in this
village, or to be exact in part of the village called Gumantar,
there used to be a time when umbrellas were made in almost every
house.

"As for myself, I make umbrellas out of necessity, not just
because I want to keep the tradition going," he said.

He admitted that the demand for Juwiring umbrellas was lower
than before because of the presence of cloth or plastic
umbrellas.

It is unknown when exactly umbrellas from used cement bags
were first made in Juwiring. According to reports, however,
during the Dutch colonial time, Juwiring was already known as a
place where umbrellas were made. The 1950s was the heyday of
umbrella-making in Juwiring as the demand for paper umbrellas was
very high.

Today only a few umbrella makers keep their activities going
in Juwiring. The continuity of umbrella making in Juwiring is up
to these people now.

"As there are so many factory-made umbrellas in the market
today, one must be patient and creative to be able to make paper
umbrellas," Pak Jaya said.

A paper umbrella is made manually. For this you need used
cement bags, bamboo and wood, along with glue, thread and some
other materials.

All the raw materials are easily available. Used cement bags
can be had from construction sites, each one costing about Rp
300.

Bamboo and wood are available in Juwiring. Bamboo forms the
spokes of the umbrella. Wood is used for the pole and the handle.
The wood must be of good quality, and that from the waru (beach
hibiscus) or mlinjo (Gnetum gnemon) trees is preferable.

The bamboo spokes are arranged into the frame of the umbrella
with thread holding the spokes together. Once the frame is ready,
it is covered with the used cement bags. Glue holds the paper to
the spokes.

Every day Pak Jaya makes five umbrellas. His wife and children
usually help him. "It all depends on the size or the type of the
umbrella. If an umbrella is made to order, it will take quite a
while to finish," he said.

According to him, the most difficult thing is the arrangement
of the spokes and holding them together with thread.

A used cement bag is enough to make two medium-sized umbrellas
or four small ones, he said.

One kodi (20 pieces) of medium-sized umbrellas costs between
Rp 70,000 to Rp 100,000. "The prices are not fixed. I'm quite
flexible," he said.

Despite competition from factory-made umbrellas, Pak Jaya does
not have any problem with the marketing of his product. Vendors
from Surakarta, Yogyakarta, Klaten and Semarang come to his house
to buy his umbrellas.

What is attractive and unique about a Juwiring umbrella is
that it is not plain but has something painted on it.

It is because of the paintings that Juwiring umbrellas survive
until today. Juwiring umbrellas, therefore, are no longer used as
a means to protect one from the rain and sunshine, but today are
used to decorate rooms.

Herry Wibowo, an umbrella maker of the young generation in
Juwiring, said that an artistic sense was needed when one painted
something on an umbrella. It is this artistic sense that has
given the umbrellas their added value: they can fetch higher
prices and look more beautiful.

The paintings have different motifs, just like with batik, for
example plants and animals. The paper or cloth chosen for these
umbrellas, however, is of a better quality.

"An umbrella for the interior decoration of a room has a
different shape to an ordinary one," Herry, who learned the skill
from his father, said.

Umbrellas with motifs painted on them are now exported.
Herry's umbrellas are quite popular among umbrella collectors in
Europe and the United States.

Decorative umbrellas are usually made with a number of layers.

A pair of these umbrellas can be sold from between Rp 125,000
to Rp 450,000. "But it all depends on the size and the number of
layers. More layers will entail higher prices," he said.

Juwiring is a village far from the madding urban noisiness. It
is quite easy to reach from Yogyakarta or Surakarta. If you take
a bus going the route of Yogyakarta-Surakarta or the other way
round, stop at Delanggu. Juwiring is about 4 kilometers to the
south of Delanggu.

It is quite an achievement on the part of umbrella makers in
Juwiring that their products can survive in this modern era. To
Pak Jaya and Henry, this is something they can be proud of.

They are even optimistic that their products can survive in
the future, especially as some of the younger generation are
learning the craft.

To Herry, making umbrellas allows him to foster mutual respect
among the young, especially when they receive a lot of orders and
have to work overtime to fulfill them. They believe their village
will continue to be known as "a village of umbrellas".