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Empowering women through Blora batik: PNM’s customer initiative
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hrough distinctive Blora batik motifs and eco-print fabrics, a customer of Permodalan Nasional Madani (PNM) is empowering women in her community.
At the Nusantara Batik Exhibition (GBN) 2023, Erawati, fondly called Era, shared her batik business journey, which has generated revenue totaling much more than the initial loan limit she received from PNM when starting her venture.
Born and raised in Blora Regency, Central of Java, Era has been a PNM customer for the past six years, starting with a 10-million-rupiah (US$657) loan which has increased to 250 million rupiah.
Era has an impeccable connection with the distinctive batik patterns of her region. She has mastered various techniques, including hand-drawn, stamped and printed batik. Her shop, Toko Kencana Batik, offers a diverse range of products such as outerwear, jackets, shirts and even wallets and bags that are all crafted from original batik fabrics.
Era also proudly stated that she has supplied 10,000 batik shirts to civil servants (ASN) in Blora.
Era’s determination as a woman and a housewife has impacted those around her. She employs around 12 workers from less fortunate families in her shop.
“I am also a housewife, so seeing my friends in the neighborhood naturally moved me to help. This provides extra pocket money for them,” said Era.
Era has taken the diverse batik techniques she has mastered and passed them down to her employees one by one. Even though they started with no batik-making skills, she now trusts her employees with the entire product-making process.
“They are the ones doing the work too. I teach them one by one until they can do it. We also use eco-print fabrics made from natural materials, created using steam and artistic techniques to extract colors and latex from various plants. They have also mastered this [skill],” Era proudly said.
Era sees a reflection of herself in these women, reminding her of the time when she started her own business.
Digging into her own pocket, Era enrolled them in training programs. She mentioned that the training covers various topics, including marketing, entrepreneurship, digitalization and more. She hopes that through this training, their skills will improve, and they will become more independent.
For Jakarta residents interested in obtaining exquisite Blora batik motifs, they can visit the PNM booth on the ground floor of Senayan Park. At affordable prices, ranging from 100,000 to 750,000 rupiah, you can take this cultural heritage fabric home.
