With one sewing machine, Safrudin Tonu altered expensive woven fabrics that had piled up unsold into skullcaps, hats and bags typical of East Nusa Tenggara (NTT).
By
Kornelis Kewa Ama
·6 minutes read
With one sewing machine, Safrudin Tonu altered expensive woven fabrics that had piled up unsold into skullcaps, hats and bags typical of East Nusa Tenggara (NTT). That way, the economic wheels of the woven fabric craftsmen around them can get rolling.
The whir of Safrudin’s sewing machine was almost drowned out by the sound of passing vehicles on Jalan Timor Raya, Kupang city, Saturday (16/1/2021). That afternoon, Safrudin was busy sewing various skullcaps, hats, waist bags and jackets made from NTT woven fabrics at his simple Hulnani Creative House.
"I have to complete an order for 100 hats from Maumere from Sikka woven fabrics," he said. In addition, there was another order from Alor for 150 caps; from Labuan Bajo as many as 300 hats and waist bags, which were still waiting in line to be worked on.
Safrudin\'s speed in meeting market demand was still limited. Imagine, he only had one sewing machine that was used for various purposes ranging from sewing, embroidering, to hemstitching. In addition, he still had to work on all the stages of production by himself. At night he studied patterns, measured and cut the patterns; during the day he sewed, made the hemstitches and did embroidery.
Hats, skullcaps, and products made from woven fabrics made by Safrudin are popular in the market. Orders came from the local governments of Alor, Kupang and Rote Ndao regencies, as well as souvenir traders in Kupang city. Even, requests also came from migrants from NTT in Kalimantan, Papua, Sulawesi, Java and Sumatra. The orders were coming in hundreds, but he could only fulfill dozens.
To increase production, Safrudin plans to cooperate with representatives of the weaving craft villages in NTT. So far, he has only absorbed raw materials in the form of a fine woven cloth made by craftsmen that were not selling well. By doing so, the weavers\' economy will not stagnate, especially during this pandemic.
The fate of the woven cloth
Safrudin, who previously worked as a contract teacher and volunteer teacher for 20 years at a junior high school in East Flores, was concerned about the fate of woven fabrics made by residents in Hulnani village, Alor regency, which were piling up unsold. As a result, the craftsmen did not get income. The same thing, according to him, also happened in other villages in NTT.
Woven fabrics produced by residents are generally made painstakingly for a long time, so the price is relatively expensive and increasingly unreachable by the common people. People generally buy such fabrics for customary and dowry purposes.
Safrudin was trying to find a way out so that the woven fabrics made by the residents could be turned into products suitable for daily needs at lower prices. Because from one sheet of cloth he could make many products.
"One day I looked at my father\'s skullcap that was displayed on the bamboo wall of the house. The skullcap was torn. The thought emerged, why didn\'t I just make a skullcap from the woven fabric,” he said.
He then "cut out" the old skullcap and studied its patterns. He looked for used woven cloth and started making skullcaps. After failing in three attempts, he was finally able to make a skullcap. His father, Ali Tonu, 74, really liked his skullcap. The father then encouraged Safrudin to make other skullcaps.
Why didn\'t I just make a skullcap from the woven fabric.
Safrudin later began to seriously produce skullcaps made of woven cloth. With the capital of a loan sewing machine and two pieces of woven cloth worth Rp 1 million, which he bought from his father, Safrudin embarked on a mission to transform woven fabrics into various products.
The skullcaps, hats, and various fashion products made from woven fabrics made by Safrudin were accepted by the market, especially since he participated in the development exhibition on Aug. 17, 2015, in Alor.
A year later, Safrudin chose to move from Alor to Kupang so that his business could develop more easily. Assisted by the provincial industry and trade office, Safrudin found a business location in a simple house in Pohon Duri, Jalan Timor Raya. He gave the name of his business the Hulnani Creative House. Hulnani was taken from the name of the home village of Safrudin in Alor.
Helping the craftsmen
His choice to move to Kupang was quite right. In this city the business was growing. Slowly but surely, demands for skullcaps, hats of various types, and waist bags kept coming.
Since 2016, he has sold tens of thousands of skullcaps, hats and waist bags made of old woven fabrics to consumers in NTT and other parts of Indonesia. He sells skullcaps and hats at Rp 100,000-Rp 150,000 per piece. Waist bags are sold at Rp 125,000 per piece.
In line with the growing business, sustenance for woven cloth craftsmen has also flowed. Safrudin said that every month he gets 5-10 year old cloths from a number of ikat groups in a number of villages. Previously, the cloth had piled up in the craftsmen\'s houses because they could be sold.
Safrudin chooses a woven fabric measuring 10-50 cm wide by 50-100 cm long. Consumers are rarely interested in the cloth of this size. He usually orders 50 to 100 pieces of the cloth at between tens of thousands and hundreds of thousands of rupiah.
Almost all woven fabrics in NTT have motifs that are attractive to consumers. At present Safrudin is absorbing a lot of woven fabrics from Alor, Sikka, and Sumba. The reason is that the fabric motifs from these three regions are very suitable for headdresses.
"There are about 5,000 pieces of cloth that I have bought, but not all of them have been processed into skullcaps or waist bags. This is to help the craftsmen,” he said.
Safrudin is of the opinion that this effort can stimulate the economy of craftsmen and at the same time popularize the skullcaps and hats made of NTT woven fabrics throughout the archipelago.
Safrudin Tonu
Born: Hulnani, Alor, April 3, 1972
Wife: Aisyah Lihu
Education: Undergraduate of Islamic religious education