As a Young craftsman of ketak products, Suhartono dreamed of opening his own shop in his own community, to gain better prices for his products and to bring gains to his village.
Ketak is a kind of natural twine which was widely available in the forests of Lombok and which is used for weaving handicrafts such as bags, wallets, jewellery boxes, trays and table mats.
Suhartono, who now owns Mawar Art Shop in the Nyurbaya Gawah community of Batu Mekar village, about 10 kilometres from Mataram in Lingsar district, says the skill of ketak is a legacy inherited by Nyurbaya Gawah residents from their ancestors.
“Almost everyone at Nyurbaya Gawah, which consists of 300 families of three to four people, has the expertise to produce ketak goods,” he said.
The settlement sits on the outskirts of the forest of Argapura – the mountain range that stretches from the Senggigi in the west to Sesaot in the east – and its residents know the forest and how to use its products such as ketak in their daily lives.
“Our ancestors living near the forest took Argapura ketak to make products such as tobacco boxes and fishing creels,” said Suhartono.
They produced a variety of souvenirs and other goods that appealed to visitors, and business flourished.
The work of the Nyurbaya Gawah craftsmen is in high demand from people who operate and stock art shops because it is known to be smooth, neat and of high quality.
“No matter how much ketak product we create, we always take orders for it all,” said Suhartono. “As a result, the Nyurbaya Gawah community has benefitted economically.”
As a young man who crafted ketak goods and planned for the future, Suhartono dreamed of setting up his own art shop so that he could achieve better prices for his work by selling directly to tourists and bypassing the middleman.
He also realised that a shop in the craft centre itself would bring visitors directly to Nyurbaya Gawah, create spin-off benefits for the community and support other sectors of its economy.
“My dream was finally realised in 1998,” he said. “With initial capital of only Rp750,000 and with the support of my wife Mawaryanti, I worked hard to set up the Mawar Art shop at home.”
Then, the shop was stocked with items crafted by Suhartono, Mawaryanti and their neighbours.
“Thanks to God, even though my business was small it was constantly growing, so eventually I was able to raise capital,” recalled Suhartono.
“Now, although my shop at home is not large, it has become a central outlet for the Ketak crafts of the community,” he said with pride.
“Prices for ketak items range from Rp2500 up to Rp7.5 million and we are exporting to markets including Australia, Spain, France and the United States as well as selling locally. We are exploring potential markets in Japan and China.”
As market demand increases, however, the raw material of ketak is becoming more difficult to find on Lombok and is being sourced from Sumba in East Nusa Tenggara province.
“We hope and pray for guidance from the government on how to rejuvenate the plant so we do not exhaust our supplies of the Ketak twine and endanger our successful craft industry,” said Suhartono.
Crafting a ketak product usually takes three of four days. Initially the ketak twine must be smoothed with a small knife, subjected to other processes and then stained using a special method to preserve its natural appearance.
source:enchanting-lomboksumbawa.com
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