VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

The Ministry of Industry through the Yogyakarta Batik and Crafts Center held an event called "Dissemination of Technological Innovations and Facilitation of Batik Mark Certificates." It is an effort to improve the competitiveness of the handicraft and batik industry in Indonesia.

Acting Head of the Center for Crafts and Batik, Titik Purwati Widowati in a press release Thursday (10/6) said that the handicraft and batik industry in Indonesia are not only a part of the creative industry, but also the nation's culturally-rooted treasures. Batik handicrafts along with Keris and Noken have even been designated as intangible cultural heritage native to Indonesia by UNESCO.

Titik Purwati also said that to build an independent, competitive, and advanced batik industry, it is necessary to encourage competitiveness through various innovations and standard adjustments. Therefore, the Center for Handicrafts and Batik, which is within the Standardization and Industrial Services Policy Agency of the Ministry of Industry, has actively created innovations that are ready to be applied and help meet batik industry standards. They are the development of development of natural batik based on palm products, exploration of sources of natural dyes from industrial waste, new designs and motifs, development of batik analyzer applications for batik and artificial detection, and application development that helps make formulations of natural dyes.

Specifically in the field of batik quality assurance, the Center for Crafts and Batik facilitates the application and acquisition of Product Certification for the Use of Indonesian National Standard Marks. It also provides guidance in the field of Batik Mark certification, in accordance with the regulation of the Minister of Industry. The Center aims to guarantee the quality of batik, increase the confidence of domestic and foreign consumers, preserve and protect batik products, and provide the identity of Indonesian batik.

Meanwhile, Head of the Standardization and Industrial Services Policy Agency of the Ministry of Industry, Doddy Rahadi said that the creative handicraft and batik industry is one of the sectors that is expected to support the National Economic Recovery agenda due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Therefore, it takes the role of all parties in creating a supportive ecosystem. Moreover, the handicraft and batik industry is one of the industries that actively empowers the community's workforce.