"We hope that traditional Lasem batik would be known on the international stage through this handmade batik demonstration," Sugiyarto, who is a Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise (MSME) actor and owner of Ayu Art, stated at the Indonesian Pavilion in Westin Resort Bali International Convention Center, Nusa Dua, Bali, on Monday.
He lauded the government, including the Ministry of State-Owned Enterprises, for establishing the Indonesian Pavilion as a platform to promote local products to foreign visitors during the year`s largest economic and monetary meeting activities.
The Batik craftsman from Babangan Village, Lasem, demonstrated the process of making the batik patterns, completed with the special wax called "malam." His wife Jumiati also participated in the process.
He noted that Lasem`s typical batik motifs were "sekar jagat" or flower motifs that had already been designed on the fabrics.
For coloring, he used natural colors from the roots, skin, and leaves of mahogany trees, making the batik all the more valuable.
"Each color needs to go through at least seven dipping processes, sometimes even 10 to 15 times if we want the color to be even more prominent," he elaborated.
He further said that it would take 25 days to make one handmade batik material until it is ready to be marketed.
Owing to intricate designs with floral patterns, natural coloring, and work that take quite a bit of time, one sheet of batik cloth, measuring about two meters, can cost Rp1.5 million.
At the moment, Ayu Art, the MSME under the coaching of BNI Bank, is keen to target the export market and optimistic that participating in the Indonesian Pavilion would help to realize it.
All along, their product marketing had focused on targeting local cities, including Jakarta, Semarang, and Bali.
Batik craftsmen were among some 150 MSME actors from 64 sub-districts and cities in Indonesia participating in the Indonesian Pavilion provided by the Ministry of State-Owned Enterprises as part of the IMF and World Bank group meetings in Bali.
Reporting by Dewa Wiguna
(uu.kr-arc/INE)
EDITED BY INE
(UU.KR-ARC/A/KR-BSR/R013) 08-10-2018 16:49:34
Reporter: Antara
Editor: Eliswan Azly
Copyright © ANTARA 2018
