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Homecoming: Kins return to Lasem to preserve 'batik tiga negeri'
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Inside the workshop: Rudi works along with 60 batik artisans at Rumah Batik Kidang Mas, Rudi's family's business in Lasem, Central Java. (Courtesy of Rudi Siswanto) (Courtesy of Rudi Siswanto/Courtesy of Rudi Siswanto)
Batik artisans in Lasem, Central Java, strive to continue their family businesses and keep traditional legacies alive.
While it is a large part of Indonesia’s cultural heritage, the art of making batik is slowly dissipating in certain parts of the country. Such is the case of batik tiga negeri (batik of three nations), which seems to have been forgotten by many local people in its place of origin in Lasem, Central Java.
Fortunately, some members of batik houses, who once left the city, have returned to continue their family’s legacy.
“My parents were getting old, and none of my siblings were willing to continue the batik house which my family has run for over six generations in Lasem,” Rudi Siswanto, 40, said.
“There were a lot of questions about what I would be able to do if I returned home to Lasem, aside from continuing my parents’ business.”
In 2013, Rudi switched careers from being an external auditor in Jakarta to managing his family’s business at Rumah Batik Kidang Mas located at Tawangsari, Central Java. He considers it a waste for their batik house to simply become a thing of the past.
Ekawatiningsih or Eka, another batik maker in the area, shared a similar concern.
