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.

Batik Tulis Cicih Exsport to USA

In the southwestern part of Brebes Regency, a young Cicih often watched her mother fulfilling batik orders from customers in their area, Salem Village, Salem District. Seeing this potential, Cicih Darminingsih (her full name) felt inspired to help preserve the traditional handwritten batik craft of her region.

The family’s batik business, which had been passed down through generations, continued to survive because every member of Cicih’s family had the skills to make batik. Even after Cicih grew up and got married, the family’s batik heritage continued.

The year 2000 marked the beginning of Cicih continuing the family batik business. With her own capital of 5 million rupiah, she started the business using whatever raw materials were available. At that time, her batik’s marketing area was still very limited.

Her persistence in continuing the family’s inherited batik business eventually bore sweet results. The location of her batik workshop, situated near the Salem forest, attracted the attention of Perhutani (the State Forestry Company).

Loan Funds

In mid-2000, Cicih became a member of the LMDH Bentar Lestari (a community forest management group). Through regular village-style discussions, officials from Perhutani’s Central Java Regional Division and Perhutani Pekalongan Barat eventually offered Cicih the opportunity to take a loan.

Her batik business also began to gain recognition through local activities and exhibitions organized by Perhutani in Brebes City and surrounding areas. Then, in 2012, Cicih received a soft loan from Perhutani’s PKBL Program (Partnership and Community Development Program). Perhutani saw her seriousness and the fact that her batik products were selling well in the market, especially in the Perhutani Pekalongan Barat region.

The soft loan from PKBL was provided with a repayment period of three years. The relatively easy requirements and low interest rates made Cicih interested in taking the loan.

With a loan of 25 million rupiah, Cicih is now able to produce batik in large quantities. The raw materials, which previously could only be obtained from nearby areas, now come from Pekalongan City — well-known as the center of Nusantara (Indonesian) batik.

The prices of the handwritten batik produced by Cicih have also become more varied, ranging from the cheapest at 10,000 rupiah up to 250,000 rupiah. In addition to being marketed in cities such as Brebes, Semarang, and Jakarta, her batik’s market has now expanded all the way to Palembang.

Expanding to America

As her batik became increasingly well-known, Cicih was often invited to participate in the Inacraft exhibition in Malaysia. Eventually, orders started coming in from Malaysia, and now her batik has even expanded into the United States.

Previously, Cicih’s monthly income was around 20 million rupiah, with workers consisting only of family members. After receiving the soft loan from Perhutani, her batik sales turnover doubled to 40 million rupiah per month.

The number of workers also increased to 25 people. They no longer come only from her family, but also from residents around her home.

This increase in sales has led banks to approach her more aggressively, offering various types of loans — from low-interest to high-interest. However, Cicih admits she is not yet comfortable with the long and complicated banking processes. She is only interested in the soft loans from Perhutani’s PKBL program.

So far, Cicih has only dreamed of soft loans like those from Perhutani’s PKBL because they are easy to obtain, the repayment period is quite long, the requirements are not complicated, and most importantly, she doesn’t have to feel anxious (“cenat-cenut”) about being chased by debt collectors.

Currently, Cicih’s motivation as a handwritten batik artisan is to open her own batik shop branches in various regions, to update her batik motifs every three months, and to start marketing her products directly overseas.

Cicih expresses her gratitude to Perhutani for the soft loan. She also hopes that in the future Perhutani will further intensify outreach and education about forest areas so that forest damage can be reduced, thereby preventing various natural disasters.

In addition, she hopes Perhutani will provide more soft PKBL loans to its fostered partners. This way, more job opportunities can be created for the community, while also increasing people’s creativity and innovation.