ITB Partnered with Biak Numfor Tourism Office to Held a Cold Wax Batik Technique Training for Biak Craftsman
BANDUNG, itb.ac.id – Institute for Research and Community Service ITB (LPPM ITB) held a cold wax batik inking technique training on Tuesday (24/5/2022) at Hotel Asana Biak, Biak Numfor Regency, Papua. This training was aimed at boosting the tourism potential of the regency and opening new economic opportunities. To ensure the development continuity of this craftsmanship, LPPM ITB partnered with Biak Numfor tourism agency.
In this training, LPPM ITB decided to focus on the application of cold wax batik inking into shellfish, keychains, and glass mat handicrafts. The Biak pattern was chosen as the batik style because of the current popularity of contemporary designs. The handicrafts are expected to sell at a cheap price, but which will still generate profit. LPPM ITB reasoned that by selling it at low prices, it will sell in higher quantities which will ultimately increase the sales circulation.
"Batik is Indonesia's cultural heritage, and it seems that every region must be capable of crafting its own batik. However, we found out that the Biak community apparently has encountered some materials constraints. Coincidentally, in Bandung, there is Bu Niken who invented the cold batik technique, a batik technique that does not require heat, but rather utilizes mixtures of acid powder. If acid powders are mixed with butter and fluid, the mixture that is produced can be used as the barrier for the color. By using this technique, we can directly color our handicraft without needing to apply multiple layers of batik wax. Therefore, this technique can be specifically beneficial to the Biak community because of its practicality and cheaper material cost. Certainly, we will base our design on the authentic Biak pattern," said Dr. Ira Adriati, M.Sn., a lecturer from the Faculty of Fine Arts and Design ITB, who participated in the event as quoted from papuajaya.com.
The handicrafts are expected to be sold at a hotel or similar locations. It is hoped that this training can help refine the batik craftsmanship and create new market opportunities in Biak Numfor, as well as boost the local economy and tourism.
Reporter: Stevani (Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, 2021)
Translator: Favian Aldilla R (Civil Engineering, 2019)
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