Rumah Belajar Batik participantSEMARANG, 10 December 2020 – Yayasan Cinta Anak Bangsa (YCAB Foundation) collaborates with Indika Foundation to inaugurate the Rumah Belajar Batik in Semarang, Central Java, on December 10, 2020 as an effort to increase the economy and preserve culture.
Batik is one of the works of Indonesia, which is admired by many nations. Batik is also a cultural heritage of Indonesia which helps drive the economy of the community. According to data from the Ministry of Industry, the export value of batik in the first half of this year reached 21.54 million US dollars or equivalent to 321 billion rupiah, and is one of the country’s foreign exchange earnings. Japan, The United States and Europe are some of the main export destinations for Indonesian batik.
The inauguration of the Rumah Belajar Batik Semarang is a mutual effort to preserve culture nationwide and to stimulate the batik industry in Indonesia. This Rumah Belajar is expected to be able creating jobs and being able to reduce unemployment among underprivileged productive age groups through holistic and integrated vocational skills training. More than 120 participants received batik training, entrepreneurship assistance and marketing online so they can build a sustainable business. Sekar Batik Group Wangi, for example, has sold about a hundred batik products in both cloths and clothings. This group is now continuing to expand their business in the Boja area and receiving assistance from the Kendal Regency Cooperatives and UMKM Office to develop their business and workshops.
One of the participants’ workIn the first stage at the end of the training, each group will receive business capital assistance in the form of batik tools and materials worth 5 million rupiah. Rumah Belajar Batik Semarang also holds competition between groups every quarter to continue to home batik skills, improve creativity and entrepreneurship. The winner of this competition will receive business capital assistance worth 10 million rupiah.
Veronica Colondam, CEO and Founder of YCAB Foundation says, “Through the Batik Learning House Semarang, we not only teach batik skills but also educate them to become batik entrepreneurs – or, at least, we expect them to become batik makers with online market access. So YCAB’s mission is not just teaching skills, but making them independent through steady jobs. If possible, we hope they can create jobs. In this way, they are all empowered to help improve poverty in a sustainable manner.”
Meanwhile, Azis Armand, Chairman of the Board and CEO of the Indika Foundation says, “Gotong royong is the national culture that we always uphold, including in moving and building the Indonesian economy and building society. Every energy we produce at Indika Energy Group runs in harmony with community development and this program is expected to be able to increase community independence so that it will have a positive impact on the local economy and improve the quality of life.”
As one of the Indonesian companies with integrated business diversification, Indika Energy is not only focuses on meeting national energy needs, but also has a mission to help develop Indonesian human resources. Indika Energy founded the Indika Foundation in 2017, which was then running various programs with two main focuses, namely building national character and caring for spirit of tolerance.
Previously, the Indika Foundation has also collaborated with YCAB in various other programs. Together with other parties, the Rumah Belajar Batik is expected to continue to produce students, which produce the best work.