TANGERANG - In the midst of the scarcity of handicrafts in the modern era, the people of Buniayu Village, Sukamulya District, Tangerang Regency, are still consistent in preserving bamboo handicrafts from generation to generation.
In the village, residents established a bamboo craft center called Saung Bakul. In addition to being a production center for MSMEs, Saung Bakul also functions as an educational space for the community and the younger generation.
One of the drivers of bamboo crafts, Murdani, said that Saung Bakul was built as an effort to preserve cultural heritage while improving the welfare of the community through local wisdom.
"This is where we started bamboo crafts. Here we also try to improve the lives of the surrounding community with local wisdom," said the man who is familiarly called Kang Dhany at a press conference for the Story of Buniayu activity held by students of the International Class of London School of Public Relations (LSPR) Class 27 at Saung Bakul, Saturday, January 10.
Dhany admitted that he had known bamboo weaving since childhood. However, more serious efforts to preserve it were only carried out in 2021, coinciding with the Covid-19 pandemic. At that time, he and the residents began to build an UMKM center to maintain the sustainability of bamboo crafts in Buniayu.
About a year later, the local government designated Saung Bakul as an education center. Since then, various training and product development have continued, including the innovation of bamboo handicrafts into the fashion sector.
"Initially our product was only a woven for household tools. Through various activities, we tried to innovate, one of which was making a turban from bamboo weaving," explained Dhany.
He said that Saung Bakul products are beginning to be known in a number of regions in Indonesia. However, the biggest challenge still lies in marketing development, especially the use of digital technology.
Dhany appreciates the collaboration with LSPR which provides digital training and product development to artisans. According to him, this assistance is important because most of the artisans are over 35 years old and are not used to digitization.
"Artisans in Buniayu are on average 35 to 50 years old. Most of the participants who attended today are the sons and daughters of artisans, so we hope there will be regeneration," he said.
He hopes that this cooperation can help expand the market for Saung Bakul products to the national and international levels, as well as improve the economy of the village community.
Meanwhile, the Chairperson of the Story of Buniayu Organizing Committee, Moza Febrianita, said that the activity aims to encourage the strengthening of MSMEs and the sustainability of traditional products through digital training and design development.
"We want to strengthen digital promotion, improve the quality of design, and encourage the competitiveness of local craftsmen so that Buniayu bamboo woven products can be known to the international market," said Moza.
He added, as a young generation, LSPR students try to bring innovation so that bamboo woven products remain relevant to current trends, especially in the fashion industry.
"We want Buniayu Village to be better known through fashion innovation. Craftsmen are used to using traditional materials, while we are trying to develop from the perspective of Gen Z," he said.
Moza hopes that this collaboration can produce more diverse bamboo woven products, improve the welfare of the community, and ensure that the tradition of bamboo craft remains sustainable among the younger generation of Buniayu Village.
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