JP/Anggara Mahendra

The Bali provincial administration is drawing up a bylaw on the protection of local traditional fabric, as part of efforts to preserve the tradition and push for production and quality enhancement in line with market demands.

Bali Industrial and Trade Office head Ni Wayan Kusumawathi said her office, in cooperation with academics at Udayana University, was drafting a bylaw on Balinese traditional-fabric protection. The ordinance is expected to be passed this year and to act as a stimulant in the development of the fabric and as in preparation for global market competition.

The traditional textile is included as a cultural and traditional expression determined by intellectual property rights (HKI), alongside dances, traditional architecture, paintings and folklore. Traditional Balinese textiles include endek and songket.

The draft, said Kusumawathi, had been preceded by the identification of traditional Balinese textiles.

'€œThe results will be documented; they include mapping of traditional cloth-weaving industrial centers and the distinction between motifs in each regency or city. This is the basis for formulating the regulation,'€ she said. She also invited all parties to play an active role in the preservation and future development of the traditional fabrics.

Kusumawathi said that protection would not be limited to the importance of registering the HKI, but also include preservation and sustainable use.

Traditional Balinese fabric production, she said, had been carried out through the generations and was once on the verge of extinction. Craftspeople could only be found among the elderly. This is attributed to the restricted use of such fabrics, which were only worn during traditional or religious rites.

'€œWe will make efforts to protect production legally, including the importance of registering intellectual property rights and gradually assist in its facilitation. But equally important is how production can continue,'€ said Kusumawathi.

The passage of the bylaw will be followed up with a gubernatorial decree on wider use of the fabric, especially within governmental, educational and financial institutions, as well as the hotel industry.

Kusumawathi emphasized that certain textile motifs, which are currently only used for traditional and religious rituals, would be maintained. '€œTraining and counseling will be provided to craftspeople, especially on which motifs can be used by the general public, designs sought after by the market and quality standards so we are able to compete with products from other provinces and countries,'€ she said.

I Wayan Sukerta, leader of the Winangun Asri weaving group in Pejukutan village, Nusa Penida, Klungkung, heartily welcomed news of the planned bylaw.

He claimed that craftspeople still needed guidance and assistance to improve product competitiveness, with promotion and marketing being equally important.

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