TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Rumah Baca Teratai: Empowerment through the arts
In Rumah Baca Teratai (Teratai reading house), children and teenagers are empowered.
Change Size
Collaborative artwork: Teenagers color a cloth painting. (JP/A. Kurniawan Ulung)
I
n Surakarta, Central Java, the location of Rumah Baca Teratai is strategic as it is close to City Hall and two big traditional markets — Klewer and Gedhe.
The building is eye-catching with the walls and floor painted with murals. Interesting murals can be found not only on the walls of the reading house, but also on other walls within the complex of the Dadapsari village in the Sangkrah subdistrict. Teaming up with community Tugitu Unite, people in the village made the artwork in September 2015 to get children’s attention.
The manager, artist Danny Setyawan, said children visited in the afternoon to play or read books.
“For me, forbidding children from technological gadgets is impossible because that is in the hands’ of their parents. The only thing I can do is help them temporarily ignore their gadgets to play outdoors here,” he said.
Founded on Jan. 17, 2014, Rumah Baca Teratai aims to encourage children to be passionate about reading and to help reduce negative stigmas about the Sangkrah sub-district.
In Surakarta, densely-populated Sangkrah is notorious for criminal records, ranging from gambling, juvenile delinquency, illicit drug use to terrorism.
Read also: Rumah Hati: A second chance for youngsters
Bahrun Naim, the country’s mostwanted terrorist, grew up in the village. After he orchestrated the terror attack on Jl. MH Thamrin in Jakarta in January 2016, Sangkrah became popular as a terrorist hotbed.
“The man who planned to bomb the Palace is also from Sangkrah,” Danny said of one of the terrorist suspects related to the frying pan bomb in December last year.
Living amid negative stereotypes is not easy. Innocent people become victims, as they cannot get jobs after informing people that they are from Sangkrah.
Danny says that he wants people to know that Sangkrah has Rumah Baca Teratai where young people come to play and develop their potential.
“This is a place to find identity. Here, they can discover and develop their character, interests and talents,” he said.
Therefore, Danny, helped by many, such as university students, artists, community members and practitioners, creates art, social and cultural activities in Rumah Baca Teratai to attract children and teenagers.
To teach theater, for example, Danny has invited students from the Indonesian Arts Institute (ISI) Surakarta.
“Theater is important to boost their confidence as they have to perform in front of audience,” he said.
ISI students also teach children to play the gamelan as a way to preserve traditional Javanese karawitan (music ensembles).
Read also: Another day in paradise: Redeeming value of art
In collaboration with community Orang Muda Katolik (Catholic Youth Organization), Rumah Baca Teratai also has storytelling workshops for children to introduce them to the values of tolerance.
“We teach manners. When children talk with parents and elders, they know that they have to speak politely,” he said.
Danny understands that people love music. So, in Sangkrah, children are trained to play percussions by using second-hand objects, such as used cans and jerry cans.
For teenagers, Danny’s goal is not only to shape their characters. He wants them to be financially responsive as this could dissuade them from being influenced to do bad things.
In Rumah Baca Teratai, teenagers get hands-on training in sablon (silk-screening), airbrushing and web designing, with the help of Danny’s friends as their instructors.
“Learning about airbrushing and silkscreen printing techniques is of great interest to the students. I just help facilitate the training,” he said.
“To learn about silk-screen printing, for example, I send them to Banyuwangi, East Java. After they return to Surakarta, I ask them to intern with three silk-screen artists for one year,” he said.
One of Danny’s protégés now has his own business.
“He has been working on orders from distros [distribution outlets]. For one distro, he handles 8 to 10 designs.
For one design, there are at least 40 pieces of clothing,” Danny said of his protégé, who is now a silk-screen coach at Rumah Baca Teratai.
Rumah Baca Teratai also provides batikmaking training for people in Sangkrah.
Rumah Baca Teratai had over 2,000 books donated. Since March 2015, it has been equipped with computers and WiFi, thanks to a telecommunication company’s corporate social responsibility (CSR).
Danny hopes that with the technological devices, the reading house can be the first cyber village in Surakarta.
“Rumah Baca Teratai is a pilot project. This year, we will duplicate it in other villages. The concept will stay the same. For children, we focus on character development. For teenagers, we give them real life skills,” he said.
