The WOVEN made by Balinese weavers is unquestionable for its strength and beauty. This is what makes people love the weaving made by Balinese weavers. However, the beauty and strength of weaving Balinese products are not impossible to be under threat of imitation. This is what many parties are worried about, especially Balinese lovers, observers, and weavers.
This fact is also the background for holding a discourse in the form of an interactive dialogue AKU (ApaKabar UMKM) BALI with the theme "Balinese Traditional Weaving in the Attack of Counterfeit Products" on TVRI BALI, Denpasar, Thursday, May 27, 2021, starting at 18.05 WITA. Present Mrs. Putri Koster as Chair of the Bali Dekranasda, Komang Diah Kartikasari as owner of Kerthi Loka Collection and Ida Ayu Puspita Hartaty as owner of Putri Ayu Weaving. Hosted by Dede Setyadi, this interactive dialogue event was very warm and full of enthusiasm.
In this pandemic situation, it's time for us to rise up and pay more attention to traditional Balinese weaving. Currently, traditional Balinese weaving is being challenged by the onslaught of imitation products from outside Bali. Bali Governor's Circular Letter number 4 of 2021 concerning the Use of Balinese Endek Woven Fabrics is expected to protect the production of traditional Balinese woven fabrics amidst the onslaught of mass-produced factory-made artificial woven fabrics from outside Bali. It is Putri Ayu's weaving from Gianyar to become one of the IKM in Bali that can survive with the creations that continue to grow.
In this event, Mrs. Putri Koster explained that her job is to bridge the handicrafts of IKM Bali to consumers. This pandemic is a challenge to continue to carry out exhibitions by implementing health protocols. The wife of the Governor of Bali also emphasized that as the head of the National Dekranasda, throughout the year she would still hold exhibitions at the Arts Center. "I don't want IKMs in Bali to be like big, porous trees gnawed by termites from the inside," said the Head of the Bali Province Dekranasda. For this reason, SMEs must maintain the quality of their products to be able to compete with foreign products.
Dare to Innovate
Meanwhile, Ida Ayu Puspita from Putri Ayu Pertenunan stated that craftsmen must continue to innovate without abandoning traditional principles. The original Balinese woven fabric has a distinctive texture, which is not owned by artificial products from outside. For him, the Circular Letter of the Governor of Bali regarding the use of Balinese Endek woven fabrics is very helpful for the development of IKM-IKM in Bali. "The Bali Governor's Circular regarding the use of Balinese Endek woven fabrics can trigger the creativity of native Balinese weavers," said the owner of the Putri Ayu weaving.
Meanwhile, Diah Kartikasari from Kerthi Loka Collection stated that her MSMEs are trying to develop the creativity of Balinese Endek Woven fabric craftsmen. This industry which targets local and international markets is also actively participating in the Bali Bangkit II Exhibition. Kerthi Loka is also actively collaborating with other Bali IKMs.
When the host asked what innovations were made by Kerthi Loka and Putri Ayu's weaving, Diah Kartikasari explained, Kerthi Loka always maintains and improves the quality of her clothing production. Also always make new designs every day. Meanwhile, Ida Ayu Puspita Hartaty from Putri Ayu Pertenunan explained that her innovation was to use new techniques such as jackals and Dobi so that in 2 or 3 days she could produce one quality piece of cloth. He also tried to combine ikat motifs with the airbrush method, trying to combine his woven motifs with painting motifs.
Problems Faced by Balinese Weavers
On this occasion, Mrs. Putri Koster also explained the problems faced by traditional Balinese weaving craftsmen. “Once upon a time I saw cloth. After I noticed it turned out to be a Songket type that was digitally printed and produced in large quantities by the factory. Of course, this threatens the development of traditional Balinese Songket fabric production,” said Mrs. Koster's daughter. The fabric produced by this factory takes consumers of traditional Balinese weaving because the price is cheaper. The head of the Dekranasda offered a solution by turning the factory-made Songket cloth into a shirt material.
“Traditional woven fabrics are allowed to develop in their respective regions. Do not concentrate on a large factory because it will kill local IKMs. What I can do is raise awareness to producers, IKM, MSMEs and consumers,” explained Mrs. Koster's daughter. he added, awareness needs to be raised to preserve the original Balinese Songket and Endek woven fabrics by using the original woven fabrics. "Weaving fabrics should not be uninformed because the original Balinese woven fabrics are limited edition," he added.
Until now, Balinese craftsmen have maintained their quality so that the price is of course a little more expensive. But according to Mrs. Princess Koster, it's still natural. Cheap factory-made fabrics are of course not of the same quality as those made by Balinese craftsmen, once washed they will fade easily and the motifs do not last long. "Let's maintain our ancestral heritage by using the original woven fabrics produced by Balinese craftsmen because the quality is more guaranteed," said the Chair of the Bali Province Dekranasda. Because of this superior quality, the original Endek motif from Putri Ayu's Weaving was used by Christian Dior's design.
Appeal to Use Traditional Balinese Weaving
To comply with the Bali Governor's Circular regarding the preservation of Endek cloth, the public should use the original Balinese Endek cloth because the quality is guaranteed to be good. In addition, to strengthen the economic cycle in Bali, Mrs. Koster's daughter. “We urge women to use the original Balinese Songket for Wastra. For everyday clothes or shirts, you can use Songket motifs. Imitate the ancients who were proud to have the original Balinese cloth, even if it was only one sheet,” the Head of the Bali Province Dekranasda urged.
Closing the event, the Chairperson of the Bali Province Dekranasda stated that the Dekranasda was committed to strengthening IKMs in Bali. One of Dekranasda's strategies is to record the problems faced by IKMs in Bali and submit them to stakeholders. In this case, the government also intervened in providing a strong legal umbrella for SMEs in Bali. One of them is the Communal Property Rights for Balinese Songket cloth. "Our job is to maintain the preservation of high-quality ancestral cultural heritage," said Mrs. Koster's daughter.
Therefore, Mrs. Putri Koster appealed to IKMs not to reduce the quality of their production. For MSMEs, don't neglect our duty to preserve Balinese culture. For consumers, use traditional Balinese woven fabrics. In addition, the wife of the Governor of Bali also hopes that there will be a legal umbrella that protects the production of traditional Balinese woven fabrics in traditional villages.
