UNS — Professor in Development Economics, Universitas Sebelas Maret (UNS) Surakarta, Prof. Dr. Izza Mafruhah recently has patented three batik motifs. The Professor, who is often known as Prof. Izza, patented three batik motifs entitled Benteng Pendem, Waduk Pondok, and Edi Tirto. These three batik motifs are inspired by the specialty of each inspiring region.
Starting from a research and community service conducted with her research group, Prof. Izza took the initiative to make batik with the typical motif based on the regional characteristics of the research objects. The batik motif of Benteng Pendem and the Waduk Pondok was inspired by the specialty of Ngawi Regency. Meanwhile, the final motive is inspired by the specialty of the Sragen Regency.
“In Javanese philosophy, there is an expression ‘ajining raga saka busana,’ which means the honor of the body is seen from a person’s attire. Well, that is where we are interested in making batik. Batik is beautiful and classy. So, we are promoting the area through special clothing. When someone tells me that the motif is beautiful, I can tell them this is Sragen special; thus, we can all promote the region through a batik motif. I think this can be an effective method,” explained the Professor in Development Economics, Monday (28/2/2022).
Prof. Izza develops batik motifs under the ‘HEBAT’ concepts. The concept stands for heritage, ecology, batik, agriculture, and tourism. Through the concept, Prof. Izza seeks to record the specialty of an area in terms of historical heritage, ecology, batik, agriculture, and tourism.
The two initial motives developed by Prof. Izza are inspired by the specialty of Ngawi Regency, East Java. The district has many natural attractions, such as Waduk Pondok and Benteng Pendem. Additionally, there is also a historical tour, namely the Trinil Museum in Ngawi. The Waduk Pondok and Benteng Pendem motifs were made using a special technique, known as the mixed technique between the hand-made and printed batik techniques. The process took advantage of the cold wax method. The advantage of this technique is that it will generate embossed motif as in hand-made (canting tulis) batik, but the process is faster because it is printed (stamp) using cold wax.
“Well, this one is a mix of hand-made and print techniques. This batik motif is printed using cold wax. In the hand-made canting technique, the motif is hand-painted with hot wax on a plain fabric using special tools canting. This technique usually takes a long time to complete; thus, not every batik artisan is familiar with it because they must have spare equipment. A single hand-made batik fabric might take up to a few weeks to complete. Therefore, we choose this mixed technique to expedite the production process and to produce a hand-made like batik,” said Prof. Izza, who currently serves as the Vice Dean of Research, Academic, and Student Affairs at FEB UNS.
Meanwhile, the batik motif developed in 2021 was inspired by the wealth of the Sragen Regency. Prof. Izza and her team combine the Branjangan Bird, a typical bird from Sragen, with the unique motif inspired by Kedung Ombo Reservoir and ancient relics at the Sangiran Museum be the motif of the batik. Additionally, the batik motif entitled Edi Tirto is also painted with a picture of humus and grain stems. Humus and grain stems symbolize prosperity and fertility in the Sragen Regency. This selection is based on the fact that Sragen Regency is the third largest rice producer in Central Java.
“This Edi Tirto motif include an inscription ‘Memayu Hayuning Bawana.’ That sentence is one of the slogans in FEB, which means beautifying beautiful earth. Memayu means to add more ‘ayu (beautify)’, hayuning means beautiful, and bawana means the earth. Adding beauty to the earth that is already beautiful,” she explained.
Reviving Batik Craftsman SMEs
Prof. Izza and the team entrusted the production of this special batik pattern to the SMEs in Sragen Regency. Prof. Izza states that she deliberately did not collaborate with large factories because she wanted to empower the local artisans. “We do not want to go to large factories, and we want to collaborate with SMEs to nurture the batik SMEs there. We are more satisfied because we can help,” said Prof. Izza.
These batik motifs have attracted many buyers’ interest. In fact, the Edi Tirto batik motifs are designated as batik uniforms in the Faculty of Economics and Business (FEB) UNS. Prof. Izza hopes that the batik motif can benefit many parties such as UNS, local governments, and the general public. Humas UNS
Reporter: Ida Fitriyah
Editor: Dwi Hastuti