Oyos Saroso, Bandarlampung
Tapis is an indispensable part of life for many people in Lampung. The traditional fabric made and developed by the women of Lampung for generations has become a symbol of the region.
The woven material, embroidered with gold and silk thread, continues to be produced by home industries, providing a reliable livelihood for many women in Lampung's villages.
The beauty of the embroidery and the artistic value reflected by pieces of old tapis make the antique works targets of collectors from abroad. Usually, the older the tapis fabric the more expensive it becomes.
One of the local women benefiting from collectors' growing interest in tapis is Rusiana Makki. The 58-year-old has become a business success thanks to her collection of antique tapis pieces and her modern handicraft business. With dozens of craftswomen and a network of owners of antique tapis across Lampung, she opened Galeri Tapis Tangan Emas 10 years ago. The gallery now yields an average monthly profit of Rp 30 to 40 million (US$3,300 to $4,400) from orders for new tapis pieces alone. Her antique tapis business is more lucrative, with a single piece selling for Rp 75 million or more.
Apart from foreign tapis collectors, buyers of Rusiana's old tapis include local enthusiasts and museum curators. Lampung's Ruwa Jurai Museum, for instance, recently purchased several antique pieces from the collection of Rusiana. Later a large company in Lampung bought dozens of tapis pieces for its museum.
Rusiana said that when she started her tapis business in 1996, she knew very little about this traditional material, despite having been a collector of old tapis since the 1980s.
Before hiring craftswomen, she bought tapis fabric and added ornaments like beads. Rusiana was convinced that with perseverance the business would be promising. So she began recruiting women to be trained as craftswomen.
Rusiana now employs at least 40 tapis makers. Some work at her residence, but most work from their own homes in Talangpadang, Tanggamus regency.
""They have become breadwinners as well. Tapis is indeed identified with women,"" Rusiana said.
Born in Sukadana, East Lampung, on Jan. 19, 1948, Rusiana has new hires taught by senior craftswomen how to embroider and adorn tapis fabric for about a week. Among Lampung's upper middle class, Galeri Tangan Emas is known as a modern tapis producer and many officials and celebrities come here and buy tapis wedding attire and accessories.
""The orders I receive from dignitaries and wealthy socialites for their wedding ceremonies in Lampung can reach hundreds of millions of rupiah. Besides the sets of wedding clothes for brides and grooms, they also order tapis clothes for the couples' parents and relatives,"" Rusiana said.
She said she was not all that interested in expanding the business by opening galleries in other regions or enlarging her business scale. ""My gallery has not joined any exhibitions as I have no staff to help me. I just control the business at home and customers come to me,"" she said.
Rusiana noted that her business faced almost no obstacles and its risk was very small. ""The management of work schedules may be the only problem because my employees are not bound by contracts so they can quit any time. But those already enjoying the remuneration for their work are usually industrious. They get hundreds of thousands of rupiah for a tapis piece and the faster they work the more they earn.""
Though only produced by cottage industries, Rusiana voiced her conviction that tapis could improve the living standards of people in Lampung and lift them out of poverty.
""Sadly, only a few indigenous citizens of Lampung are aware of it, while outsiders have learned the ancient craft and spread it to other regions. In Kendal, Central Java, a businessman has succeeded in this business,"" she said.
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