Yogyakarta's bustier seller finds religion pays

By Bambang Tiong

YOGYAKARTA (JP): Yohana Juminah, 54, began her career in 1966 as a traditional bustier maker in Beringharjo market, Yogyakarta. During her six years in this profession, she never even had a glimpse of success, and the number of orders she received began to fall.

During this time in 1972, her business was undermined by competitors offering higher quality and better designed products. However, Juminah did not give up and instead moved into the business of selling statues of Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary along Jl. Malioboro here.

Almost every day Juminah sold these statues, which she receives from Jambu village in Yogyakarta. These statues are made from clay with a height of 30 centimeters. Soon her business was blooming.

Flush with success, Juminah decided to create a Catholic cross made from cans and plastic, which she bought from plastic collectors.

Before processing the material, all the plastic is washed and melted on the stove top using a pan. The melted plastic is then poured into the cross mold. After the cross takes its shape, it is removed from the mold and all the edges and rough spots are smoothed.

"My husband and me can make 35 Corpus Christi crosses in a month," Juminah, a mother of one, said.

"The shape of the cross is made from an already existing mold available in the market. After a week of drying, the cross is then divided into two with a sharp knife."

Juminah's statue and cross business became so successful that in 1990 she was able to build her own icon empire, selling fiberglass statues of Jesus, the Virgin Mary and several saints. With Rp 15 million in initial capital, she was able to open a small shop on Jl. Solo in Kalasan, Central Java.

The Rosary, Juminah's handicraft industry, not only produces religious statues, but also items used in religious rituals, including rosaries, the plates used in communion and tabernacles.

The fiberglass crosses are made of white melted fiberglass which is poured into a silicon mold imported from China. To speed up production, the already molded fiberglass is scored with liquid catalyn and six hours later sprayed with turbid water in order to shape the cross.

Gib crosses, on the other hand, are made of thick liquid gibs poured into a mold also made of gibs. Three hours later, the gibs are taken out of the mold and dried in the sun for four days.

The crosses are then scoured and sprayed with waterproof paint.

However, Juminah is keeping a wrap on the intricate details of her business, refusing to divulge the ratio of chemical ingredients used to produce the crosses.

Juminah also uses hardwood trees to make crosses, cutting the wood according to order, sanding and then spraying the pieces with an undefined liquid which gives the crosses a lustrous shine.

The price of each cross depends on the type of wood used, while the size of the cross depends on the customer's order. The woods are obtained from Blora, Central Java, and Gunungkidul, Yogyakarta.

According to Juminah, there is no standard rules for the size and form of the crosses. Indonesian crosses are usually adapted from the Hindu culture and typically are not in proportion with Christ's body. European crosses, on the other hand, are usually proportional.

Rosaries vary in price from Rp 2,500 to Rp 250,000, depending on the material and size -- the most expensive rosary is one meter in length. This is a bargain compared to the one to two- meter tall statues, which can cost as much Rp 2,250,000 to Rp 8,000,000.

The Rosary can produce between 600 and 900 crosses and rosaries each month. The products are sent to a number of cities in Java, including Surabaya, Bandung, Purwokerto, Semarang and Jakarta. Outside of Java, the crosses and rosaries go to Kalimantan, Irian Jaya and East Timor, and some of the products are exported to the Netherlands, Australia, Portugal, France and other countries around the world.

The company's statues can be seen in almost every bishop's office in Indonesia. Juminah made the two-meter tall statue of St. Anthony which is displayed in Bumi Pertiwi Square in Loro Sae, East Timor. It was ordered in 1997 at Rp 8 million.

The company has 30 workers, consisting of 10 permanent employees and 20 temporary employees. Workers receive monthly salaries of between Rp 125,000 and Rp 250,000, depending on their skills.

Iin, 30, who has worked at the company for more than 10 years, receives Rp 250,000 a month, plus overtime and health benefits.

"I would really like to open a business similar to this one but I don't have the capital," she said.

Rev. Sugeng Daryadi, the head of the Indonesian Protestant Church in Prambanan has been a regular customer of The Rosary for four years. Each December he orders posters of Jesus and the Virgin Mary for his congregation. Last year he purchased 100 posters for Rp 750 each.

May and October are busy months for Catholics and usually the turnover for Juminah's business sharply increases during this period due to high demand for ritual materials. In normal months, the company's turnover reaches up to Rp 125 million, but during May and October it can go as high as Rp 200 million with 30 percent profit.