Handicrafts in Tasikmalya

If there is something interesting to see, there is usually a hawker nearby trying to sell hats, bags, or key chains emblazoned with the place's name. I’ve noticed that the next vendor I see is usually selling even less practical merchandize, like paper fans or woven boxes. Like it or not, handicrafts and souvenirs have become an engrained component of most tourism destinations. Environmentally, it’s probably not the best idea just producing more junk people don’t need, but on the other hand it does make for an easy home indusrty for villagers to earn some extra income. Not to mention for middlemen who then sell these products at substantially jacked up rates. So, is this a responsible aspect of the tourism industry???

I decide to visit the town of Tasikmalya, an area known for producing cheap handicrafts, about 3 hours to the East of Bandug. It’s quite easy to find a bus (well, minibus) going to Tasik, as they leave almost every hour and the ride there is, like most rides in the interior of Java, quite scenic. Luckily, they had a metal handrail running along the interior of both sides of the minibus, since as I’m also noticing, most (read- all) of these rides are quite bumpy.

The region of Tasikmalya receives a large number of domestic and international traders who want to buy cheap handicrafts. While the town of Tasik has depleted most of the nearby raw materials, handicrafts are now being made in villages around the region. The Tasik area produces batik printed silk goods, paper umbrellas, and handbags, which are then sold in tourist destinations around Indonesia, and internationally.

I had heard about a group working in Tasikmalya called Handycrafts. Their goal is to help local people produce quality goods that can then be sold at fair-trade prices. Handycrafts is just one branch of a larger NGO that also has branches providing health assistance, micro-credit financing, agricultural technology development, and arts education. As I read from their website, they hope to create “holistic development” and have the NGO be self-sustaining through profit produced by Handycrafts and one of the other branches. The staff of SNT is supposed to consist of 40, with 14 of these being expats. I read all of this on their website that was last updated in 2004. I received no reply to my emails, and while I made a valiant effort to look for their headquarters in Tasik with the help of a worker from the hotel I stayed at, the best we could find out was that the Bule (foreigner) working there had moved away. Again, the complete story surrounding the fate of producing fair-trade crafts in Tasik remains a mystery due to lack of information, but er, it doesn’t look like they made it.

I spent the rest of my visit in Tasik visiting one of the villages that produce these tourist goods. Rajapolah is 12km to the North of Tasik and is known for making cheap rattan handicrafts. For the most part I just strolled down the main street of Rajapolah looking at shops as it kept raining off and on. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to have that many in depth conversations on the production of handicrafts since my Indonesian language skills are still rusty (read-nonexistent :P!). It did not take long to walk down the main street in town because this town, like so many others, follows the peculiar custom of having an all the shops carry the EXACT same products. I’d guess there are 20 or 30 shops in Rajapolah, all right next to each other, and all fully stocked with the same bags, boxes, wall hangings, and other similar wicker tourist trinkets.

Rajapolah and Tasikmalya made for a relaxing excursion, though I guess I didn’t really find out that much more about the tourist handicraft industry. My next stop is the popular tourist hub of Yogyakarta.

(Is this where cowboy hats come from??)

The Sundanese

This final day under the wing of Dr. Ko was spent learning more about traditional Sundanese culture.

Almost 30km to the North of Bandung, the third biggest city in Java, stands Tangkuban Prahu, a still active volcanic crater and a part of local Sundanese lore. It’s a curious Oedipius style tale of a separated son coming home and falling in love with his mother, but in order to marry she gives an impossible task – build a gigantic boat in a single night. He nearly completes it, but the mother cheats and asks the gods to bring the sun up early. When he fails, he kicks the boat over in a violent rage, thus making the volcano.

On the drive to the volcano we pass some small villages, many which are selling cuddly looking rabbits in the shop windows and in nearby cages. I ask about this. “Satay,” was the reply. This area is well-known for bunny satay. Gulp.

It’s difficult to reach Tangkuban Prahu without a car, especially since there’s a steep and poorly paved 4.5km stretch from the entrance to the peak. When we finally reach the top after this jarring ride, I’m very impressed to see the bubbling crater. This is the first time I’ve even seen a live volcano, so I’m naturally quite excited. We join a throng of onlookers gathering around wooden railings of the “Queen Crater.” The weather is cool as this area is over 2000m above sea level, so many have already purchased hats and scarves from a nearby vender. Peddlers also move among the crowd selling a range of objects including jewelry, knick-knacks, sulfuric ash, and rabbit fur purses (lots of these rabbit purses in fact). Several ponies are also around providing purchasable rides to visitors. Nearby, leading to another viewing angle, a path is lined with stalls offering more shopping opportunities. As someone explained to me, domestic tourists love shopping, so this “leisure interest” is usually made available at most attractions.

The next place Dr. Ko, his family, Lulu, and I visit is Sindang Reret restaurant, a traditional Sundanese cultural restaurant. We are placed at a large wooden table and waiters, though not traditional dressed, bring out rice in woven baskets with wooden scoops. A fake waterfall is setup on one side of the restaurant. You can tell that the management here is trying to make the restaurant atmosphere feel as natural as possible, reflecting the closeness of Sundanese culture with the natural environment. We ate a large meal of vegetables, fish, a minced bean dish, a roasted chicken, and of course rice.

Our next destination is about 7km to the East of the city at the Saung Angklung Udju Sudanese Art and Bamboo Craft Center. This fascinating place is where the Angklung instrument is made and where the master craftsmen Mang Udjo established his workshop in 1967. The mission as stated by this center is “to preserve and develop West Java culture through Angklung music.” Most afternoons at 3:30 a performance is held. I’ve included some short video clips – it’s truly a site to see. What really makes this place unique is the involvement of the community, especially children. Around 100 Students from the surrounding areas train at the Angklung Performing Arts School, even kids as young as 4 start participating. Many of these pupils end up touring both domestically and internationally.

(A tall boy holding an Anglung Instrument)

The design of the workshop and concert area is traditional. Bamboo is one of the prime building materials. A huge room near the front of the building sells inexpensive bamboo instruments, puppets, and other crafts. Off the concert area is a large green space that includes workshops where you can see the instruments being made and bamboo huts where groups can play with instruments. This naturalistic setting helps give the center a unique sense of place and a reminder of a different way of life.

While authentic Wayang Golek performances, which date to before television, would take up an entire evening or even two, the show here lasts for a very memorable two hours and includes traditional puppetry, dance, and a full Angklung orchestra. One particular section depicts the tradition of putting on a party for a newly circumcised boy. The child sits in a special chair as his friends dance and play music to entertain him. Besides the cute children, another memorable aspect of the performance is the inter-activity. Each audience member is handed an Anglung instrument, one of eight possible tones. Then, an instructor at the front briefly teaches everyone how to rattle the base in order to play the instrument, and then a cue for coordinating the tones. In an odd sort of chorus the audience begins playing simple songs. The finale is bringing the viewers up to the stage to participate in traditional dance, and the kids run into the audience to choose a partner. It was surreally funny seeing a little four year old girl dancing with her white haired Dutch partner, and other mismatches.

After the performance, I was lucky enough to meet Hikmat Udjo, the grandson of the founder. As I start talking with him, he recalls how at one time he was once the little circumcised boy in the performance. While the workshop and arts center has played a significant role in his life, he also tells how it touches the lives of others and re-sparks an interest in the culture. It’s really the community, he says, that has allowed the center to endure. If it wasn’t for all these kids wanting to participate, if it wasn’t for all the visitors wishing to see the performance, if it wasn’t for those who purchase the instruments, CD recordings, and puppets, the workshop would have long ago ceased to exist. While today the workshop is a main tourism magnet of the area, the center has also seen some lean years. Sixty percent domestic and 40 percent international is the usual ratio of visitors, but after the Bali bombing they received ZERO international visitors. Relying on volunteers from local schools, and then through government support, the center has been able to continue its work to develop and preserve the music legacy of the Sudanese culture. The Saung Anglung Udju Sundanese Art and Bamboo Craft Center seems to demonstrate many of the tenets of “responsible tourism,” and is a truly worthwhile attraction to visit.

To find out more you can visit their website at http://www.angklung-udjo.co.id/

Words of Wisdom from Udjo Ngalagena:

“What You Are
What Job You Have Chosen
Do It Well
Do it With Love
Without Love
You Are Dead Before You Die”