Hundreds of Rattan Handicrafts Sold

Nusa Dua, InfoPublik - Lombok's typical rattan handicrafts enlivened the venue of Indonesia Pavilion at the 2018 Annual Meetings of International Monetary Fund-World Bank Group (AM IMF-WBG) in Nusa Dua, Bali. The crafts, whose round rattan bag was popularized by singer Raisa, came from Baleka Village, East Praya District, Central Lombok Regency, West Nusa Tenggara (NTB).

The handicrafts that have been popular all over the world and exported to Brazil, Holland, France, Sweden and Australia, originated from the idea of a "ketak" craftsman, a type of nail plant that grows creeping on a parent plant that thrives in Central Lombok.

"The initial idea came from my grandfather who imitated the shape of our ancestral jewelry box which was round in shape and made of wood. Grandpa tried to make it from “ketak” and rattan. A cloth put in it as a layer before a rope and hook were added on the lid” said Bale Satria Putra (25), third generation rattan craftsman.

He and his parents never expected their creations to be positively welcomed by the community until it became a trend. "Initially, I only displayed a number of items in the workshop on Jl Raya Andong, Ubud, Bali. Every day was quiet, no one was interested. Then, we joined the trade expo in Jakarta, and people started ordering," he recalled. In his village, Bale also has a gallery called "Bale Art Shop."

Despite the booming round bag products, Bale, which coordinates thousands of craftsmen in four districts, actually has dozens of other product items. Those are more than 30 items of bags, tissue boxes, jewelry boxes, trash bins, bridal delivery places, flower vases, wall hangings, and so on.

"Product items continue to grow, because we also serve orders. If there is a new order, we will make a sample first. If it's ok, it will be mass produced,” explained Bale.

They are able to produce up to 7,000 bags per month. The production time is around 1-2 days per bag per craftsman. But for crafts that are large in size, for example up to 1 square meter large for wall hangings, it is usually completed after around one week per product per person.

The pricing depends on the material. For those made from pure rattan, prices start from Rp15,000 to Rp700,000 per product. The ones made from grass or ketak, the pricing is between Rp25,000 to Rp2,500,000. Whereas those made from synthetic rattan are only Rp10,000-Rp300,000.

"Until the sixth day, Saturday (13/10), thank God, we have sold hundreds of items and some delegates ordered special products that we must provide the sample first. There are also many IMF-WBG delegates who are interested in bag products, but they want hand bags, not strapped bags", Bale said proudly.

Bale added that “ketak” and rattan are actually relatively the same in quality. "But pay attention to the bag strap, whether from original or artificial leather. Original leather surely is better. In addition, check also the quality of the fabric inside the bag," he said. He shared a tip if the bag is dirty, “just cleaned it using a dry toothbrush”. (Dwi Hardianto/Gusti Andry/Translator: Erik Limantara)