Implementation of Cultural Heritage in the Development

of the Batik Industry in Ngawi Regency

Izza Mafruhah, Nunung Sri Mulyani, Nurul Istiqomah, and

Dewi Ismoyowati

Faculty of Economics and Business, Universitas Sebelas Maret, Indonesia

eyzamom@gmail.com

Abstract. Batik is one of the cultural heritages of the past and has become a

characteristic of Indonesia in the world. Batik that has developed over the past

centuries has given birth to various types and motifs that are unique for their

respective areas of origin. The Government of Ngawi Regency has recently been

actively campaigning for batik clothing as a national identity. This Ngawi batik

motif is made with written and printed technology that carries the Ngawi's

characteristics, namely rice, bamboo and ancient humans. Therefore, Ngawi batik

is one of the cultural heritages that needs to be preserved, protected and

supported. The development of Ngawi batik motif is the result of the

acculturation of its people’s culture so that it can be an asset for cultural heritage.

The focus and priority of developing batik motifs starts with the problem of the

lack of existing decorative styles. Therefore, the development needs to continue

to be done on the types of Ngawi batik motifs (contemporary, vernacular, and

conventional traditions) with a foundation on exploration of its cultural potential

and landscape.

The development of the cultural heritage and batik industry has been carried out

to drive the Ngawi economy and to empower women in batik-producing villages.

Marketing media creation needs to be done to support the developed program in

the form of the Kampung Batik Website in Ngawi. In addition, the grand design

of the Tourism Map regarding the integration of tourism development with the

batik industry in Ngawi has also been carried out to boost the creative economic

sector that sustains economic growth.

Keywords: Batik · Tourism · Marketing · Cultural heritage

1 Introduction

Batik is one of the cultural heritages that has been recognized by UNESCO. It has a

long history in the life of the Indonesian people in various aspects such as origin, motifs,

manufacturing processes, and stakeholder involvement in its development. Batik motifs

are full of meaning especially about who is drawing the motifs, and so the name of batik

will depend on the story behind the motifs drawn. Batik comes from the Javanese word

Ambathik, which means drawing dots on a wide cloth (amba). At first, batik was known

only by the royal circles. Batik motifs are influenced by ideas, desires and hopes so that

the names of motifs are have special meaning. For example, the truntum motif is a motif

that tells the story of love created by Kanjeng Ratu Kencana, empress of Paku Buwono

Mafruhah, I., Mulyani, N., Istiqomah, N. and Ismoyowati, D.

Implementation of Cultural Heritage in the Development of the Batik Industry in Ngawi Regency.

DOI: 10.5220/0009839800002900

In Proceedings of the 20th Malaysia Indonesia International Conference on Economics, Management and Accounting (MIICEMA 2019), pages 161-168

ISBN: 978-989-758-582-1; ISSN: 2655-9064

161

III Surakarta Hadiningrat, who felt sad and despaired because of losing the attention of

the King. At night, the Empress stared at the stars and during the day the cape flowers,

and so the idea was born to create batik motifs which were a blend of stars and cape

flowers. This beautiful motif drawn by the Empress then drew the King's attention and

made him love his wife again. This motif was later known as truntum, which means

blossoming. Until now the truntum motif has become a symbol of love and affection so

that it will generally be worn by husband and wife in the form of sarimbit, or couple.

Other popular motifs include Sidomukti, Sidoluhur, Sido Wirasat, Wahyu Tumurun,

Kasatriyan, and Parang Rusak. Batik motifs are developing very rapidly and

increasingly diverse over time so that now almost every region has its own batik motif.

(Hidayat, 2004).

Batik is one of the main industries in Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises

(MSMEs) in Indonesia which already has an international market share. Data shows

that in 2017, Indonesia's total batik exports reached 58.46 million dollars with the main

destination countries such as Japan, the United States, and European countries. In 2018,

the value of exports increased by around 7%. Data from the Ministry of Industry states

that there are currently 47,755 batik IKM units, with the number of workers reaching

199,444 people. The national batik industry has comparative and competitive

competitiveness in the international market.

This activity is a combination of research and community service conducted in

Ngawi regency, East Java Province. Ngawi is an area that borders directly with Central

Java and is one of the hub cities with cities in Central Java, so there are many types of

industries that grow and develop in this city, one of which is batik. Table 1 shows data

about batik centers in Ngawi.

Table 1. Batik Small and Medium Industry Centers in Ngawi Regency.

Year

INDICATOR

Business

Unit Workers Production Value Marketing Areas

2011 9 162 835,000,000 Ngawi

2012 11 181 1,170,000,000 East Java

2013 16 247 1,675,000,000 East Java, National

2014 19 276 1,842,000,000 East Java, National

2015 18 195 710,363,000 East Java, National

2016 18 195 710,363,000 East Java, National

Source: Statistics Ngawi, 2017

Table 1 above shows that from year to year the amount of batik production in Ngawi

has actually declined. This research aims to 1) analyze the problems faced by batik

entrepreneurs in Ngawi; 2) analyze superior motifs that can be developed to become a

batik attraction for Ngawi; 3) analyze the stakeholders involved in developing batik in

Ngawi.

MIICEMA 2019 - Malaysia Indonesia International Conference on Economics Management and Accounting

162

2 Literature Review

Batik is a traditional cloth with a unique pattern that is applied to the fabric using wax-

resistant coloring techniques. The batik pattern is divided into several design groups

according to the template class with hundreds of variations in it. Although there are

similarities in batik patterns so they can be identified, the motifs developed are based

on high-level features that do not change in scale, rotation, and other transformations.

Research by Nurhaida et all (2015) introduces an approach to batik pattern recognition

using the scale-invariant feature transform (SIFT) as a feature extraction method. This

approach is an effort to facilitate understanding of batik patterns and motifs due to the

symmetrical and repetitive characteristics of batik patterns. The results showed that

from a collection of 120 batik drawings, all of them could be grouped into 20 basic

batik patterns (Nuraida I et al, 2015).

The batik industry can be divided into several types: written (hand-drawn), printed,

and batik motif cloth without batik process. Hand-made batik tends to be considered to

be of higher quality and is much in demand by people and art lovers, but the

manufacturing process takes a long time, starting from the process of making motifs,

writing (hand drawing) using a specialized equipment tjanting, coloring, removing, and

washing. The longest process is hand-drawing which can take up to weeks or even

months depending on the complexity of the motives. This causes the price of handmade

batik to be very expensive even reaching millions of rupiah for one piece of cloth.

Susanti (2016) succeeded in optimizing batik so that it can save raw materials by

14.801% and production time of 10.345% with the particle swarm optimization (PSO)

method. This method was introduced as an effort to speed up the production process

and reduce the selling price of batik (Soesanti I, Syahputra R, 2016).

Research conducted by Novani et al about the role of stakeholders in the

development of batik clusters in Solo shows that all stakeholders in the solo batik group

work together to create both entrepreneur value and customer value. All stakeholders

must develop creativity that not only meets customer needs (low cost) but also art and

culture (originality) and batik (high quality and innovation). Entrepreneurs must often

conduct on the job training with more complex equipment, always innovate products,

and optimize product promotion through exhibitions and the online marketing. The

training program is usually held in collaboration with relevant government agencies

(Novani et all, 2014).

3 Method

This study used a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods (Creswell,

2014). In depth interviews and field observations with ATLAS.ti as an analytical tool

were carried out to answer the first objective, while the second objective was

investigated by developing secondary data and regional potential and was analyzed

qualitatively. The third objective was examined through a focus group discussion to

formulate a model for developing batik based on cultural heritage and local wisdom of

Ngawi.

Implementation of Cultural Heritage in the Development of the Batik Industry in Ngawi Regency

163

4 Result and Discussion

Creative industries are currently being developed by the government. The contribution

of this sector to GDP continues to increase from year to year. In 2017, the creative

industry's contribution reached Rp 990 trillion and absorbed a workforce of 17.14%. In

2018 the contribution increased to Rp 1,041 trillion and absorbed labor as much as

18.2%. For 2019, the Indonesian Creative Economy Agency is targeting a contribution

of 1,200 trillion. This condition is very encouraging because the creative economy

sector will become one of the pillars in non-oil exports.

Batik is one part of the creative industry, especially in the field of fashion, but there

are some major obstacles in the batik industry. The results of in-depth interviews and

observations on five batik industries in Ngawi show the following issues:

1. Product Development. The in-depth interview that focused on written batik found

the following issues:

a. Motif. Motif development is influenced by ideas that arise. Regional

excellence becomes the basis for the discovery of basic ideas and trends

in Ngawi, cultural heritage, and fashionable or up-to-date motifs so that

they can attract consumers

b. Hand-drawing process that requires accuracy especially for complicated

motifs; consistency in making products in bulk; and high costs for

spending more work time

c. Batik technology that still relies on traditional methods and tools

d. The decline in expertise in batik, especially among the younger generation

so that it will cause a reduction in labor in the field of batik

2. Marketing, experienced several main problems as follows

a. High production costs lead to expensive prices

b. The number of customers is limited because it has its own exclusivity

c. The number of competitors that are eroding the market share

d. Simple promotion by relying solely on exhibits and traditional marketing

e. Weak product standardization because everything is handmade so it is

difficult to maintain consistency

3. The role of government, including the following issues

a. Policies and regulations that must be developed to protect small

businesses, especially creative businesses, including batik

b. Development of cooperation networks both in terms of capital and

marketing. The opening of this cooperation network will provide

opportunities for entrepreneurs to develop their businesses

c. Capacity building consisting of (i) specific training in developing new

batik methods that are faster and more consistent; (ii) equipment

assistance to be more targeted and in accordance with the needs of

business actors; (iii) assistance provided continuously in accordance with

the conditions and needs of business actors

These problems can be identified and shown in the following figure:

MIICEMA 2019 - Malaysia Indonesia International Conference on Economics Management and Accounting

164

Fig. 1. Problem Identification of Batik centers in Ngawi.

Implementation of Cultural Heritage in the Development of the Batik Industry in Ngawi Regency

165

Regarding the second objective, based on secondary data obtained, the advantages

possessed by Ngawi are (a) Bamboo, where the name Ngawi comes from the Javanese

word Awi which means a type of bamboo; (b) Teak Forest is one of the main potentials

in Ngawi Regency which will be reflected in cambium; (c) One of the famous cultural

heritages in Ngawi is Van De Bosch fortress which is commonly known as the pendem

(buried) fortress; (d) Ngawi is famous for its Trinil museum which is the location where

ancient life history is found, so the mammoth ivory motif is a choice because it is

relatively attractive. The results of the secondary data are then discussed with batik

entrepreneurs to be compiled and formulated in Ngawi batik excellence models.

The third objective of this research is to analyze the stakeholders involved in

developing batik in Ngawi. Stakeholders who are directly or indirectly involved are

Academics, Business, Community, and Government. These stakeholders are arranged

in the "who does what" model. Stakeholders are divided into four: 1) Regulators, those

who set regulations in the cluster development, namely the local government and the

local House of Representatives. The drafted regulations are expected to be implemented

as technical guidelines for the development of batik clusters. The regulations will be

implemented by executors consisting of related local government organizations such as

the trade service, industry service, cooperative and MSME service. Supporting

institutions include Banking, Academic and Business Institutions. Finally, the target or

end user is the batik business actors.

Clusters are realized in the homes of batik entrepreneurs with a variety of activities

consisting of (1) developing networks and a culture of cooperation; (2) structured

training; (3) economic assistance and development; (4) marketing and trading house;

(5) tools and capital assistance

The model is shown in the following Figure 2:

5 Conclusion

This research found three issues in the development of batik products, namely (1)

product development, especially written batik; (2) marketing which has several

constraints on both internal and external factors; (3) The role of the government both

in policies and regulations and in the implementation and opening of networks. The

main motif in developing Ngawi batik is to incorporate local wisdom and the most

dominant potential in Ngawi district, so that it will bring out its own uniqueness and

special characteristics. The batik business development model in Ngawi Regency will

be carried out with a system of who does what consisting of regulators, executors, and

supporting systems to create home of entrepreneurs.

References

Ansor, Yusak dan Kusrianto, Adi. 2011. Keeksotisan Batik Jawa Timur. Jakarta: Elex Media

Koputindo.

Apriliana, Ika Mega., Budiharjo, Hardman dan Karsam. 2016. Perancangan Motif Batik Tulis

Ikon Kabupaten Ngawi sebagai Media Promosi dalam Menunjang Industri Kreatif. Art

Noeveau Vol 5. No 2.

Djoemena, Nian S. 1990. Ungkapan Sehelai Batik: Its Mystery and Meaning.Jakarta: Djambatan.

MIICEMA 2019 - Malaysia Indonesia International Conference on Economics Management and Accounting

166

Fig. 2. Cluster Development Model in Ngawi.

Implementation of Cultural Heritage in the Development of the Batik Industry in Ngawi Regency

167

Erima Oneto dan Sudarma.2008, Cara Cepat dan Mudah Membuat Website. Media Kita. Jakarta

Hamzuri. 1985. Batik Klasik. Jakarta: Djambatan.

Nugroho, Eko. 2008. Pengenalan Teori Warna. Yogyakarta: Penerbit Andi.

Nurainun, Heriyana, dan Rasyimah. 2008. Analisis Industri Batik di Indonesia. Fokus Ekonomi

Vol 7 No 3, Halaman : 124-135.

Rustan, Surianto. 2009. Mendesain Logo. Jakarta: Gramedia Pustaka Utama.

Susanti, Susi. 2015. Analisis Dampak Perekonomian Industri BatikMenggunakan SWOT di

Kecamatan Pasar Kliwon Surakarta. Skripsi. Universitas Muhammadiyah Surakarta.

Utoro,Bambang. 1979. Pola-pola Batik dan Pewarnaan.Jakarta:Departemen Pendidikan dan

Kebudayaan.

MIICEMA 2019 - Malaysia Indonesia International Conference on Economics Management and Accounting

168