Batik Salem From Brebes Central Java Indonesia

Can anyone mention Batik motifs that you know? Or maybe the name of the area he came from? Generally, the batik we know comes from Pekalongan, Jogja, Solo, Cirebon, where else can you try batik?

Often, the mind will immediately focus on these areas when talking about Batik. Meanwhile, who would have thought that Brebes also had batik?

Have you ever heard of Batik Salem Brebes? Honestly, Batik Salem still sounds foreign to the ears. While participating in the activity, we were invited to an area at the westernmost tip of Brebes, to be exact in Bentar Village, Salem District. There is an area where the average residents work as batik craftsmen.

In 2016, the Creative Economy Agency (Bekraf) launched the Innovative and Creative program through the Nusantara Collaboration (IKKON) which was implemented in 5 regions in Indonesia. One of them is Brebes through its Batik Salem. For 3 months the team from IKKON conducted research and development in Bentarsari Village in order to create Batik motifs that could be used as the hallmark of Brebes, and of course in the future it could be patented. Because so far Brebes has not had a strong foundation and special character for batik.

After 3 months of research, IKKON finally managed to find motifs and materials that match the character of Brebes. Furthermore, the team from IKKON made a masterpiece pattern and gave it to the craftsmen. Then the craftsmen just draw the pattern on the mori cloth.

The motifs that characterize the batik salem or brebesan include duck, onion, broken coffee, mango, peacock, ukel kale, and chain rays. The dyes used are also still natural, made from turmeric, guava leaves, to jengkol skin. Unique, right? These natural dyes can produce natural colors such as yellow, brown, and black. Meanwhile, Batik with bright colors such as red, blue, and green, still uses artificial dyes.

So far, the batik craftsmen in Salem are only housewives who take care of the house daily. When the homework is done, then they make batik. This habit has been passed down from generation to generation in their family. One of them was Mrs. Tarkinah whom I met while visiting there. We stopped at his house which was located in a small alley. She explained enthusiastically about Batik Salem. Making batik has existed since his predecessor's generation and now he passed it on to his daughter, Dewi.

Before the team from IKKON helped develop the batik business in their village, batik craftsmen only marketed their products to batik collectors who would then sell them in other cities. The motifs and shapes are based on the collector's order only. However, since the IKKON program, Salem batik has slowly progressed. It is evident that there are already several residents who have their own shops in their villages, and the works of Salem batik craftsmen have also been exhibited in America, Japan, and several other countries.

Batik Salem Brebes craftsmen usually accept orders for batik with a processing time of up to 2 weeks. Depends on how many orders. Patterns and colors are made according to customer requests. The prices vary from IDR 200k to above 500k too, what is clear when you enter the store, the price will be much different.

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