In commemoration of Kartini Day, the Board of professors of Universitas Gadjah Mada held an online seminar entitled Women with Dignity: The Key to National Independence on Thursday (15/4), revealing two industries with great potential in Indonesia. These industries are also known to be dominated by women.
The first potential industry is flowers. Chairperson of the Indonesian Flower Arrangement Association (IPBI), Lucia Raras P, said that the trend of ornamental plants has great potential to drive the current economy. Lucia said that current technological advances are shifting people to work from home, sparking the need for aesthetic enhancements in the home.
In addition, Lucia said that Indonesia is rich in horticulture, so the trend of ornamental plants provides great opportunities for farmers and the flower industry in the country.
The second potential industry brought by Indonesian women is written batik. Laretna T. Adishakti, UGM lecturer and a cultural heir, said that the Indonesian batik industry has great potential to become a labor-intensive industry. She said that producing just one written batik involves many people, including Indigo plant farmers (natural dyes used for written batik), cloth producers, Maestro or batik craftsmen, and others.
Furthermore, Laretna said that UNESCO has officially recognized batik as one of the world’s cultural heritages since 2009. Batik has met the criteria. However, for Laretna, besides being rich in cultural values, the main strength of batik lies in its environmentally friendly products, so it is not surprising that batik is part of the world’s Green Fashion movement.
“UNESCO chose Indonesian batik because it is very down to earth, using natural materials and dyes from nature. That’s the strength of batik,” explained Laretna.
Because it is also environmentally friendly, the labor-intensive industry that Laretna envisions directly supports sustainable development.
However, of all these factors, the thing that makes the Indonesian batik industry highly valued is the women who act as maestros or batik craftsmen themselves. According to Laretna, the skills and culture inherent in Indonesian women in producing batik cannot be matched by the world.
“No one can match the expertise and skills of (Indonesian) batik maestros,” concluded Laretna.
Source: https://www.ugm.ac.id/id/berita/21011-dua-industri-berpotensi-dari-perempuan-di-indonesia
