An expert on alternative fuels from Surabaya's 10 November Institute of Technology (ITS) teamed up with a bioethanol promotion team recently to familiarize batik makers in Central Java with the benefits of environmentally-friendly fuels.
Batik industrial centers in Central and East Java are currently feeling the pinch of high production costs as the price of raw materials soars and the scarcity of kerosine worsens. The impact of the global financial crisis has compounded the dilemma, with a significant slide in exports and domestic demands.
In Pekalongan, for example, around 270,000, or 60 percent of workers involved with the batik industry, are at risk of losing their jobs as demand continues declining.
Expert Sri Nurhatika said the fuel conversion program run by the provincial administration aimed at curbing kerosene dependency by promoting butane, but batik manufacturers claimed the alternative heat source produced a poorer overall quality of product.
"We want to apply the results from research conducted at the Biological School at ITS to introduce alternative fuels to replace kerosene, which continues becoming scarcer as the days go on. The conversion program showed us we should no longer depend on gas because it is not a renewable form of energy," said Nurhatika.
Earlier, a bioethanol research team from ITS introduced the fuel to wayang puppetry artisans and housewives in Kudus and sidewalk vendors in Semarang. In East Java alone, the team also worked with batik makers in Sidoarjo and residents in Malang, Gresik, Pasuruan and Mojokerto.
Besides being economically viable, bioethanol is also environmentally-friendly. A liter of bioethanol, which costs Rp 10,000 (about 90 US cents), is equivalent to 9 liters of kerosene, which costs Rp 4,000 per liter.
In the batik industry, kerosene is vital because it is used to heat wax.
Demand for kerosene in Pekalongan exceeds 1,000 liters per month, with around 80 percent used by batik makers with the rest required for the fishery industry.
A number of batik producers have tried replacing kerosene with gas, but have found the fires from gas burners are too intense to dissolve wax, thus affecting the quality of the product. To produce high quality batik, stoves should produce heat at between 70 and 80 degrees Celsius. Any excessive heat can affect the motifs.
The Pekalongan regency administration had earlier thought of replacing kerosene stoves with electrical stoves to heat wax, but the move was unsuccessful because people simply did not adopt the technique.
Suhadi, a batik maker from the Kradenan subdistrict in Pekalongan, said the quality of batik produced using bioethanol was not much different from those made by kerosene and hoped the government could supply the alternative fuel to batik makers.
"The result is the same as with kerosene, but bioethanol is far more economical than kerosene. I usually use six liters of kerosene daily, but only use one liter of bioethanol now," he said.
JP/Indra Harsaputra
