Mataram Moves to Be a Creative Economy City

Mataram is the center of the West Nusa Tenggara government. The city of around 486,700 people also began to move into a creative economy city, where micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) are growing and innovating.

KOMPAS/ISMAIL ZAKARIA

Hafizah (55), sculpts motifs on chairs for cukli crafts at her home in Lendang Re, Sayang-Sayang Village, Cakranegara District, Mataram City, West Nusa Tenggara, Friday (19/5/2023).

The sound tuk tak tuk tak was heard every time Hafizah (55) hit his chisel with an iron hammer. Decades of experience has made her skillful in using the two tools. The complicated motifs on the wooden chair in front of her were sculpted very neatly.

Hafizah was met on Friday (19/5/2023) while carving a cukli craft at her home in Lendang Re, Sayang-Sayang village, Cakranegara district, Mataram city. The activity was done at the NTB Cukli center.

Cukli is a type of wooden craft combined with shellfish. Wood is sculpted or crafted out on the motifs that have been made. In the crafted wood, pieces of shellfish are attached so that new motifs are formed.

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"We started this craft in the 1990s. Alhamdulillah (praise be to God), it has survived until now with various ups and downs," said Zaenudin (55), Hafizah's husband, the owner of Anugerah Craft.

According to Zaenudin, cukli craft is now slow in contrast to the 1990s to 2000s when cukli was so popular. At that time, cukli craft was also exported. Most went to Japan in the form of ashtrays, plates, small boxes, and chairs and tables. The order was up to thousands of units.

"Now it is much smaller. This condition actually began after the two Bali bombs, the 2018 Lombok earthquake, and the pandemic," he said.

We will increase the number because the interest will definitely be high

Zaenudin is optimistic that the cukli business will improve because of the increasingly controlled pandemic. "Now we are working on a set of chairs at the Sayang-Sayang Art Market outlet. In the near future we have orders for cukli masks in large numbers," he said.

Zaenudin continues to make innovations according to the market’s needs. "In Mandalika, for example, there is a MotoGP race. Last year, we tried to make cukli products with the MotoGP theme. This year, we will increase the number because the interest will definitely be high," he said.

KOMPAS/ISMAIL ZAKARIA

Various pearl-based jewelry and accessories at the Maza Handcrafted Pearls and Jewerly shop in the Jalan Gajah Mada area, Sekarbela, Mataram City, Monday (22/5/2023).

Continue to learn

Other than cukli, jewelry and pearl accessories, ranging from rings, bracelets and brooches to necklaces are also being innovated.

Owner of Maza Handcrafted Pearls and Jewelry on Jl. Gajah Mada, Luberty “Maza” Budi Utama (43) said before the pandemic his turnover was Rp 100 million per month. However, during the pandemic it had dropped 80 percent.

He participated in various training sessions to adjust to technological developments, including using Tiktok for marketing. "Our products are also certified and guaranteed. Moreover, our brand has been patented since 2020 so that customers have trust," said Maza.

An MSME in the culinary field, Sate Rembiga Goyang Lidah has made innovations in making packaged satay since 2021. Pratiwi Wulandari, the person in charge of Rembiga Sate Goyang Lidah packages, said Rembiga Sate Goyang Lidah used to expire only within a week. Now Sate Rembiga expires after six months.

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Irma Firmana (45), owner of UD Wida Chocolates Cakes and Cookies, said in the last two years she has produced chocolate with a low glycemic index in response to the healthy lifestyle trend.

Head of the Cooperatives and Small and Medium Enterprises Ministry’s MSME division in the city of Mataram, Mamluatul Chair, said there were around 5,000 MSMEs in Mataram. Support for MSMEs starts from capital assistance, improvement of human resource and product capacity, and involvement of the exhibition to the facilitation of business legality.

"We really want to provide a stage for MSMEs in this city so that Mataram can become a creative economy city like the big cities in other regions in Indonesia," he said.

This article was translated by Hyginus Hardoyo.