A Woman Knitting Hope
Imas Titi Rahmawati (28) would have never imagined that her hobby would change her life and the lives of many people around her.
Imas Titi Rahmawati
Imas Titi Rahmawati (28) would have never imagined that her hobby would change her life and the lives of many people around her. The knitting skills she imparted to housewives and Islamic boarding school residents has given them an additional source of income.
In 2014, Imas was just knitting for fun. Imas, who learned to knit from her mother, initially produced several handicraft items, such as tablecloths, coasters and decoration. Then, she began to make fashion products, from bags to socks and vests.
Two years later, Imas and her family moved to the Kedung Kandang area in Kedung Kandang district of Malang City, East Java. In that new place, she began to take her knitting hobby more seriously. Imas also started to involve the women living in their village.
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"Around my house, especially on a hill, many women are unemployed. Sometimes they go to the fields, after that, there is no activity. Sometimes they work for a cigarette factory, then after the job is finished, there are no more activities,” said Imas who was contacted from Jakarta, Thursday (24/12/2020).
Imas went to the women and taught them to knit from scratch for free. Initially, only 10 wanted to get involved. Even though they lived in one subdistrict, the house where they met is on a hill, so Imas had to spend extra energy to reach the house. "However, I still do this activity," said Imas with a smile.
In the first year, there were a lot of knitwear products that had to be dismantled and reknitted.
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Over time, more and more women became interested in learning to knit. In addition to increasing skills, family incomes also increased. They could sell their knitwear to Imas’s shop or sell is on their own. So far, knitted products from the women are sold at Rp 5,000 to Rp 300,000 (US$0.35 to $21.22).
However, Imas faced many difficulties in the early days. The quality of the knitwear produced by the women was not maintained. "In the first year, there were a lot of knitwear products that had to be dismantled and reknitted," recalled Imas.
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Knitting handicraft products produced by Imas Titi Rahmawati and women in Kedung Kandang village, Malang City, East Java.After racking her brains, she tried to solve this problem by starting a new work system. She asked the women under her guidance to knit only one part of a product. For example, to make a bag, some only made the base, some made the sides. One bag could be made by four to five people.
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This method was easier for the women, because they only did the same part every day with the same pattern. Since this method of work was applied, no more knitwear had to be dismantled because of errors. To assemble products and maintain the quality, Imas would rely on five fully trained women. The parts knitted by the other women in the village were collected and then put together by the five women.
Knitting village
Year after year, more and more local residents became interested in learning to knit. Not only women, but also schoolchildren and Islamic boarding school students around Imas’s house. "Around here, there are two Islamic boarding schools where students learn to knit. In the holidays, they come home with their knitwear. Schoolchildren usually make key chains. They sell them at their respective homes,” said Imas.
Imas sells her products via Instagram ID @croche_vissti. In addition, she also relies on sales from various exhibitions.
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Because more and more people are learning to knit in Kedung Kandang village, the village has been named a knitting village in 2018. Next year, Imas plans to teach knitting techniques to residents in prisons.
Many parties support Imas\'s efforts. Merdeka University Semarang, for example, provides various training courses, including on digital marketing. They also proposed the establishment of a cooperative, which has been realized. The cooperative has proven very helpful for craftswomen who sometimes had difficulty getting raw materials in the form of yarn. "Buying a small quantity of yarn [is not profitable], so we buy yarn together. One purchase can reach Rp 10 million," said Imas.
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Later, Imas passed the Designers Dispatch Service program selection from the Indonesia Design Development Center (IDDC). The IDDC is an institution under the Trade Ministry that serves as a collaborative forum to bring together business actors, designers, associations, academics and industry to innovate and produce competitive products in the global market.
From the IDDC, Imas obtained knowledge on how to develop designed products and build brands to be competitive in the global market. She can also network with other craftspeople and get the latest information about design trends in the world.
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Knitting handicraft products produced by Imas Titi Rahmawati and women in Kedung Kandang village, Malang City, East Java.
One of the new things she learned was making a knitted serving hood. Products like this, said Imas, required a lot of experimenting and time to produce the necessary stiffness.
Furthermore, Imas has access to foreign markets, including the Middle East. Currently, Imas is exploring the possibility of exporting to the Middle East and hopes to realize that next year.
"I have checked the women’s knitting skills. So, I already have an idea of how many products I can produce, so that if there are large and simultaneous purchases, I can also calculate my own abilities," said Imas.
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The speed of the women in knitting also varies. Some are able to complete a large tablecloth in one week, others not. "However, if they are going to have a celebration, they work very quickly, because the money is to be used for the expenses of the celebration," said Imas with a laugh.
Another market opportunity in the Middle East is knitted items for baby toys. The buyers want a material that is so delicate that it is not dangerous if the baby touches it.
Unfortunately, there is no such fine thread domestically. Even the smoothest thread here does not meet the requirements put forward by the buyer.
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Imas is still racking her brain to find a way to fulfill this request. "If we buy the thread from there, knit it here and send it back, the price is very high," said Imas.
However, Imas is not giving up. She is constantly looking for ways to fulfil buyers’ needs. So Imas and the women continue to knit, and, stitch by stitch, the fruits of their labor become more visible as they knit for a better life.
Imas Titi Rahmawati
Education:
- Fashion Major, State vocational high school (SMK Negeri) 03 Malang, 2010
- Designing class with sewing and fashion designing certification
Achievement:
- 3rd Place for Social and State Defense, Pioneer Youth Award, 2017
- 1st Place for Best Fabric Product Category, Posdaya Competition in the East Java Region. 2016
This article was translated by Stella Kusumawardhani.
