With the demand for angklung, the traditional musical instrument made of bamboo, on the rise domestically and abroad, West Java-based producer Saung Angklung Udjo (SAU) has warned of a shortage of qualified workers.
SAU operations manager Satria Yanuar Akbar said recently his company was receiving more and more orders for the instruments, but could only meet between 30 and 40 percent of them, mostly due to the lack of skilled workers.
“We therefore still have between 60 and 70 percent of orders that we can share with other potential producers across the country, of course under our supervision and quality control,” he said on the sidelines of a four-day exhibition of bamboo-based products in Yogyakarta earlier this week.
Satria added his company currently had a production capacity of 300 angklung a month to meet both international and domestic demand.
The biggest overseas demand, he said, came from Malaysia, South Korea, Japan and the UK.
“In South Korea there are at least 8,000 schools that use angklung in their activities,” he said.
“We’ve been getting monthly orders of at least 55 units each time from them.”
The demand from Japan was no less intense, Satria went on, saying angklung music was used there as therapy for people with mental disorders.
Domestically, he said, demand also remained high, particularly from state schools.
In West Java alone, he pointed out, SAU had received an order from the provincial education agency for 283,000 angklung to be distributed to schools.
“With the captive market and the market pattern and network we already have, I’m sure we can share [these orders] with other producers, especially those outside West Java, to at least meet the demand for their respective regions,” Satria said.
He cited efforts by SAU to seek out potential business partners across Indonesia to produce enough angklung to meet the demand, among others through the Awi-Awi Mandiri program, which translates into Independent Bamboo.
Held from Nov. 10 to Dec. 19 in Bandung (West Java), Jakarta, Yogyakarta, Surabaya (East Java) and Singaraja (Bali), the program comprises a series of events including seminars, bamboo workshops and bamboo-based product competitions and exhibitions.
Besides its production plant in Bandung, where the company is based, SAU has also been developing a number of clusters across West Java to expand production, Satria said.
The first two have been developed in Tasikmalaya and Padalarang.
“This year we began expanding to other regions, including Yogyakarta, Surabaya, Central Java and Bali,” he said.
Through the Awi-Awi Mandiri program, SAU has been able to identify at least four instrument production centers in Ciamis (West Java), Borobudur (Central Java), Batu (East Java) and Banyuwangi (East Java), which it believes can be developed to also produce angklung.
Other potential areas, Satria went on, included Sleman (Yogyakarta), Singaraja and Bangkalan (Madura Island, East Java). “We haven’t surveyed these areas yet,” he added.
He said that with the current business climate and the efforts SAU was making to find and create partners, the company would be able to meet 100 percent of its business order in about five years.
More time would be needed, he pointed out, if the orders kept increasing each year.
“I’m sure the orders will increase, especially if angklung finally receives official angklung from Unesco next year as part of world heritage of Indonesian origin,” Satria said, referring to the government’s efforts to seek recognition for the instrument following its success with batik earlier this year.
