Batik entrepreneurs support the Papuan Mamas empowerment program

Batik entrepreneur and fashion designer Desirianingsih Haryati Parastri fully supports the West Papua Provincial Government's program to empower indigenous Papuan women (Mama-mama Papua) to be involved in fashion design businesses, including batik.

Met by ANTARA at her residence on Jalan Reremi Permai No. 19 Manokwari, Thursday, Desi said that almost every time technical agencies such as the Industry, Trade and Cooperatives Service, the Manpower Service, the Women's Empowerment Service and the PKK organization provide opportunities for indigenous Papuan women to participate in sewing training. and others.

Even some time ago the West Papua Disperindagkop sent Papuan mothers who were members of the local Regional National Craft Council (Dekranasda) to participate in batik training in Yogyakarta.

"There are plans to bring in a batik trainer from Java to teach Papuan mothers in West Papua. Then at our place (Kasuari Batik) there are often sewing courses, two or three times a year. I think this is a very breakthrough. good for empowering local communities," said Desi who is also a teaching staff at the Faculty of Economics, University of Papua (UNIPA).

During the sewing course, in collaboration between the Regional Government and Asri Modesta-Kasuari Batik, Papuan mothers who were participants not only received free training and transportation fees, but were also provided with sewing machines and even overlock machines.

Desi, who was invited to be a speaker in the field of fashion or clothing at the Indonesian Women Entrepreneurs Association (IWAPI) activities, said that her involvement in making Papuan batik products was driven by a strong desire to promote the cultural values and natural beauty of Papua so that more people would know it, through the medium. batik fabric.

"Basically, fashion in Papua is not like in other areas. In Java there has been batik as a fashion heritage. Likewise in East Nusa Tenggara and other places there is ikat and others. How do we adopt fashion from other places, acculturating it with Papuan culture," he said.

He hopes that the empowerment program among Papuan mothers will continue and be continued so that more local residents are involved in the fashion design business so that they can strengthen the family economy.

Desi also hopes that there will be legal protection for any designs of Papuan motifs so that they are not easily plagiarized by others.

"I had a bad experience with this. It was the first time we brought designs to a fabric printing factory. The next time they copied our motifs to sell to other people. Recently there was also one of our well-known brands that was also copied by someone else. I I'm sad because our work is so easy to copy," said Desi.

Currently, Desi is managing the trademark rights to a number of Papuan motif designs so that they are no longer claimed by others.

SOURCE: https://papuabarat.antaranews.com/berita/15409/pengusaha-batik-support-program-pemdayaan-mama-mama-papua