Philipus Dadu Tukan, The Popularity of Leraboleng Bamboo

Philipus express himself as a bamboo craftsman, and has never stopped sharing his skills with others. Raising the popularity of bamboo from the foothills of Mt. Lereboleng has been a significant achievement for him.

KOMPAS/FRANSISKUS PATI HERIN

Philipus Dadu Tukan

Philipus Dadu Tukan (41) sits cross-legged amidst thousands of bamboo strips. He is putting the finishing touches on a woven bamboo bag that was ordered from another continent.

The woven bamboo bag, measuring 37 centimeters high with a diameter of 18 cm, can be used to carry items with a maximum weight of 5 kilograms. According to the schedule, this bag and several other bamboo products will be shipped to Australia in a week.

"They like bamboo because it is an environmentally friendly natural resource. For this bag, almost all of the materials used are from bamboo. The extra materials are only the dye and rubber for the closure’s hinge," Philipus said on Thursday evening (6/4/2023) at his house in Blepanawa village of Demon Pagong district, East Flores regency, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT).

Also read:

> The ‘Digger’ of Superiority of Tabah Bamboo

> Reviving the Prestige of Kotagede Silver

The process of making the bag starts with harvesting bamboo that grows behind his house and producing thin strands, weaving them into a pattern, shaping them, and then adding the finishing touches. From a 6-meter length of bamboo, he can make three cylindrical bags, each bag taking a maximum of three days to complete.

Philipus produces not only cylindrical bags, but also square bags, laptop bags, food covers, hats, and tissue boxes. His creative industry has helped to elevate the reputation of bamboo in his village and neighboring villages with bamboo forests at the foot of Mount Lereboleng.

In residential gardens and near the riverbank, clusters of bamboo grow in the wild. Unfortunately, the local community still uses the bamboo for a limited number of purposes, such as for building garden huts, the walls of houses and animal pens, and fences. The added value they provide is not yet significant.

Disabled group

Philipus was first introduced to bamboo crafts when his uncle asked for his help in making gedek, woven bamboo mats for the walls or ceiling of a house. The mat was a simple rectangular shape, with the largest measuring 2 meters by 1.5 meters.

"I started learning from there. I was very happy. At that time, I didn't ask to be paid," he said.

Seeing Philipus's high motivation and spirit for work, his uncle entrusted him with filling the orders. When his uncle stopped working due to his age, Philipus continued the business and became a well-known gedek craftsman.

The training became a valuable asset for me, allowing me to get to this point.

At one point, a large number of orders kept coming in, so he recruited other villagers and trained them. Some of them stayed and helped him with his business, but many others opened their own businesses.

Not satisfied with this, Philipus sought other innovations. In 2016, he was invited to attend a training program on weaving bamboo with instructors from East Java. He did not waste the opportunity to learn during the five-day program. The participants were trained to make various bamboo products aside from gedek.

"The training became a valuable asset for me, allowing me to get to this point. I also promised to share this knowledge with those who needed it," said the high school graduate.

KOMPAS/FRANSISKUS PATI HERIN

Philipus Dadu Tukan works on bamboo crafts at his home in Blepanawa Village, Demon Pagong District, East Flores Regency, East Nusa Tenggara, Thursday (6/4/2023)

Philipus fulfilled his promise. He is now one of the bamboo weaving instructors in East Flores. On several occasions, the local social services office asked him to train a group of people with disabilities. He also trains bamboo craftsmen in several areas in NTT.

On his own initiative, Philipus recruited people with disabilities who were skilled to join him. "The biggest challenge is lifting their morale and building their self-confidence," he said.

The products they produce are now widely distributed in East Flores, several regions in NTT and other provinces, as well as abroad. Orders continue to come in. According to him, they have produced more than 2,000 products.

Bamboo sustainability

Philipus realized that as the demand for bamboo increases, the availability of bamboo in nature would automatically decrease. He had been thinking about this since the first time he helped his uncle around 23 years ago.

For more than 10 years, he has been planting bamboo. The bamboo is ready to be harvested four years after they are planted.

He planted bamboo behind his house and in his garden. He also encouraged the local community to preserve bamboo, anticipating that the demand for bamboo would continue to increase in the future. This was because creative industries using bamboo as their material were now sprouting everywhere, including in NTT.

During his visit to Flores Island in 2022, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo visited the bamboo crafts training school in Golewa, Ngada regency, around 358 kilometers west of Blepanawa village. This showed that the central government supports bamboo cultivation and the bamboo crafts industry.

Also read:

> Syapril Yamin, Keep ‘Gamolan’ Music Resounding

> Bamboo Conservation for Water and Tourism

Philipus's big passion is to have a representative bamboo craft business that can employ many people, especially from the disability community. So far, he has been using the living room of his house as a workshop. He acknowledges that capital is a challenge.

Philipus believes that his bamboo weaving business can grow if the government helps with the marketing side. Many creative industries in the area closed before they could develop because they did not have market access. Other support is needed in mentoring, so the quality of their products can compete with products from other regions.

Philipus has experienced this kind of support before. In 2019, the NTT provincial administration ordered 200 box bags as souvenir for guests to the region. Unfortunately, the order was halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Despite his limitations, Philipus continues to express himself as a bamboo craftsman, and has never stopped sharing his skills with others. Raising the popularity of bamboo from the foothills of Mt. Lereboleng has been a significant achievement for him.

Philipus Dadu Tukan

Born:2 Feb. 1982, Blepanawa, NTT

Education: Senior high school

Wife: Sanci Sullydenti Tefbana

This article was translated by Tenggara Strategics.