Traditional bag makers in Bona, Gianyar, thrive to survive

Wasti Atmodjo ,  Contributor ,  Denpasar   |  Tue, 10/07/2008 10:03 AM  |  Bali

BONAFIDE WOVEN GOODS: A handicraft and art shop sells a wide variety of goods made from woven materials, ranging from wallets and bags to jewelry boxes, on the main thoroughfare in Bona village. (JP/Wasti Atmodjo)

Walk down the main thoroughfare of Bona village in Gianyar, Bali, and you'll be greeted by a multitude of handicraft and art shops selling wallets, bags, jewelry boxes and other items made from weaved materials.

"We have been weaving handicrafts since our ancestors and their ancestors lived in this village," said Nyoman Pujawati, a villager and owner of a handicraft store.

Pujawati opened her store with her husband Wayan Gunarsa in 1998, when they turned their living room into a small art shop named Putri Collection.

Pujawati sells food trays and handicraft bags made of weaved palmyra leaves and other materials -- a technical development, she said, from days of yonder when local villagers only made hats and kelopok, a type of jewelry box.

Her bags became an international hit, with orders coming from Australia, Canada and other countries, with more than 400 bags per order, twice or three times each year.

In ordinary retail sales, Pujawati can sell an average of 500 bags every month, earning Rp 10 million (US$1,087). Her customers include local art shops and businessmen from handicraft centers.

The demand for her bags was so extensive, she said, that she had to occasionally refuse orders because she could not afford more material.

"Customers used to pay a deposit of a quarter of the total price of the order. Since our business is so small, especially in terms of capital, we just couldn't take any more orders," the working mother of two said.

"It's impossible for us to cover the expenses required to buy materials in such large amounts," she said, adding she currently employed eight workers to help her.

Despite this, Pujawati said business was on the decline. She said sales traditionally tended to increase in September and last through to the beginning of the next year.

"This year, at least in September, there hasn't been a single order. Retail sales have been slow too," she said.

Gusti Ngurah Sujana, owner of Tom Handicraft Art Shop, shared similar concerns. Sales at his shop have fallen drastically over the last couple of years.

"We've been running this shop for 10 years. Business has been so slow that we have to close, although we still occasionally deliver orders," he said.

Both Pujawati and Sujana blamed the fall in demand on the 2002 Bali bombing, in which terrorists detonated bombs in the popular tourist area of Kuta, killing hundreds of people, mostly foreign tourists, and nearly destroying the island's tourism industry.

Bona craftsmen suffered as a result of the incident.

"It did get better for a while. Maybe there are other reasons why sales are so slow right now," Pujawati said.

She said another possibility was that the market was saturated with identical products, prompting customers to seek more creative designs.

"I admit, there are very few efforts on the part of craftsmen here to develop a wider variety of products," she said.

Bona craftsmen use cheap fabrics to weave their crafts. A wallet or a bag made here ranges in price from Rp 1,500 to Rp 75,000, depending on the size and the quality of the material used.

Pujawati said she made a net profit of between Rp 500 and Rp 1,500 per item.

But she also said the price of raw materials was increasing, with palmyra leaves now costing Rp 3,500 per lance, up from Rp 3,000.

She said she could use up to 1,000 lances in two weeks.

Lella Juliansyah, who moved to Denpasar from Bandung, is a loyal Bona handicraft customer, buying the products not only for personal use but also for friends, especially those in Jakarta.

"They keep ordering stuff, asking me to buy bags for them," said Lella, who ordered several small boxes from Bona craftsmen for her wedding.

"It's not just because they're cheaper, there's an added value from buying the goods straight from the craftsmen."

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