Hand made: An artisan uses a wooden hammer to make wayang kulit (leather puppet) during the exhibition. JP/P.J. Leo

The enticing strains of keroncong music wafted out into the Rumah Jawa Gallery compound at
Jl. Kemang Timur Raya in South Jakarta, inviting visitors to step inside and see what the archipelago has to offer.

The gallery is hosting the Meet the Makers exhibition, which allows anyone interested in traditional textiles and handicrafts from various villages across the archipelago to not only view and possibly purchase the hand wrought items, but to also watch them being made from Friday, April 15 through Sunday, April 17 from 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. daily.

Meet the Makers makes a point to provide visitors the opportunity to meet the handicrafts people, mostly women, whose wares, ranging from hand-painted batik and traditional woven textiles, mats and bags made from woven reeds, leather wayang shadow puppets, wooden handicrafts, and ceramics.

There is even one display of educational toys by the Yakum Craft non-profit organization of Central Java that empowers handicapped people toward independence through the recycling of discarded packaging into useful objects, like puzzles that can help children learn.

After all, this Meet the Makers exhibition is primarily about empowerment.

According to Ibu Luwek of Tende Village, Kutai Regency, East Kalimantan, who was sitting on a woven reed mat in the middle of the central exhibition space on Friday weaving natural tan colored and black dyed reeds into traditional patterns for a small mat, she is delighted to have the opportunity to visit Jakarta and share her skills and sell her products.

“The money we make is a welcome addition to household income,” said the small shy woman in colorful red traditional garb, her hair pulled back in a traditional bun.

“I am really happy that we can sell so much when we exhibit in Jakarta,” she said, explaining that this is her second opportunity to come to the capital to promote the handicrafts of Industri Bentuan Lestari Cooperative that groups 25 women handicrafters in her village.

Which one?: A woman look at masks in a handicraft exhibition at the Rumah Jawa Gallery at Jl. Kemang Timur Raya in South Jakarta. The items are from Azizah Craft of Bantul, Yogyakarta. JP/P.J. Leo“It has not been easy to market our mats and bags and other woven reed items,” she said.

“I finally approached the local Industry and Cooperatives Agency and we were able to get some guidance and training to help us manage our cooperative well and to find more ways to promote and distribute our products.”

Her cooperative also collaborates with the Borneo Chic shop at Jl. Bangka Raya 99A to produce sheets of woven reed that are then used to produce attractive, trendy modern bags on the basis of designs created by a young woman named Diana, who originates from Hulu Village in West Kalimantan.

Among the other cooperatives, women’s empowerment organizations and small-scale home industries with displays are Tafean Pah, which features traditional woven and embroidered fabrics of various kinds from the western part of East Nusa Tenggara; House of Lawe of Yogyakarta that features items made from the traditional fabric favored by the staff and guards of the ancient palace there; Asmoro, which features the unique designs and colors of the coastal batik of Pekalongan; Red Lotus, which features a wide range of hand painted batik items from Banguntapan, Yogyakarta,. and Pekunden, of Depok, West Java, which features pottery items.