PANGKALPINANG -- Batik is a cultural heritage that Indonesia is proud of. Indonesian Batik motifs are very distinctive and depict the beauty of Indonesia. PT Timah Tbk plays a role in supporting batik conservation by supporting MSMEs and batik craftsmen to continue to develop their businesses.
PT Timah Tbk through the Micro Small Business Funding (PUMK) program supports batik craftsmen in operational areas in the form of capital support and coaching.
PT Timah Tbk, which is a member of the MIND ID mining industry holding company, also often holds batik training for community groups and women's groups in the company's operational areas. In particular, ecoprint batik training has been carried out in several regions.
Through eco print batik, PT Timah Tbk encourages women's groups to introduce the potential in their area through batik work. Not long ago, PT Timah Tbk also provided training in making ecoprint batik for the Mapur indigenous community in Air Abik Hamlet, Bangka Regency.
One of PT Timah Tbk's partners who is involved in the batik business is Ira Afriliana, a woman from East Belitung who owns the Batik De Simpor brand. Ira said that she started learning batik in 2012 and continued to pursue written batik until in 2017 she dared to start her batik business.
"Making written batik is not as easy as imagined. So we don't have the courage to make our own batik with little knowledge. However, the great desire to make batik with typical East Belitung motifs has made me brave enough to decide to start a batik business, even though there are still many shortage, and I made batik with a canting stamp," she said.
Starting from there, she continued to develop her batik business. She made various batik motifs, one of which was the simpor motif. Simpor is one of the typical Belitung plants.
By making batik, she introduced the beauty of the Laskar Pelangi Country and the various batik motifs he made such as Simpor leaves, Simpor flowers, Keremunting, Rambai katis, and Cempedik fish.
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"One of the characteristics is Simpor leaf batik, which is a plant found in East Belitung and always displays bright colors," she said.
With support from PT Timah Tbk through the PUMK program, Ira's business continued to grow, even being able to employ five workers, but unfortunately, her business was also affected by the COVID-19 pandemic so he was forced to reduce her workforce.
Not only marketing batik to tourists who come to their gallery, Ira started promoting its products through social media and reaching the digital market.
"Initially our business started to develop because raw materials were available in abundance, and production increased. Many tourists visited Laskar Pelangi so our business had a positive impact, many people shopped," she said.
"However, in the middle of the journey, in 2020 we were hit by Covid-19, so tourist attractions were closed which had fatal consequences for the batik business. We slumped, craftsmen were reduced, and sales declined for almost two years. People preferred food to batik," she continued.
It cannot be denied that she was in despair, but she tried to get back up with raw materials and capital assistance from PT Timah Tbk, enabling her to continue to rise in running her business.
As a result, Batik De Simpor is now back in existence, producing a unique and interesting variety of batik which is the hallmark of East Belitung.
"In every batik pattern and color, there is a spirit of mutual cooperation, to unite and together build a better future, and to be diligent in living life," she said.
In the future, as a batik craftsman, she hopes that PT Timah Tbk can continue to help MSMEs like herself to develop their businesses.
"We hope that PT Timah Tbk will regularly hold events in East Belitung because it will have a lot of positive impacts on MSMEs," she said.
