West Java to Establish 'Paguron' Schools to Save Traditional Crafts from Extinction

The West Java Provincial Government is preparing to launch special learning centres known as ‘Paguron’ for traditional crafts and allocate monthly incentives for master artisans in a bid to save local artisan professions from the threat of extinction due to a regeneration crisis. Governor Dedi Mulyadi revealed this strategic idea after detecting a sharp decline in the number of young people pursuing specific creative industries, such as weaving in Tasikmalaya and Garut, as well as carving, sculpting, painting, and hand-drawn batik across the West Java region. Through this financing intervention system, master artisans will be tasked with leading non-formal institutions titled Paguron Batik, Paguron Weaving, Paguron Carving, and Paguron Painting to directly transfer their rare skills to the next generation. Regarding the Sunda Karsa Fest Karya Kreatif Jawa Barat 2026, Dedi stated that besides mitigating the breakdown of the traditional skills chain, this major event, a collaboration between Bank Indonesia (BI) and the West Java Dekranasda, serves as an important platform to test the performance resilience and competitiveness of the real sector in the domestic market. “This event, organised by BI and the West Java Dekranasda, is part of evaluating MSMEs while also promoting them, so that everyone will have a strong confidence that MSMEs are a crucial part of the economic system built in West Java,” he said. To ensure equitable growth of the creative economy, Dedi proposed that integrated exhibitions and festivals like Sunda Karsa Fest should not be centred solely in the provincial capital but must be rolled out periodically across all 27 regencies and cities in West Java.