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Sukimin is well versed in both the art and the business of batik, thanks to his experience as the owner of a batik workshop in his hometown of Wonogiri, Central Java. He is now in Jakarta for two months to take part in a batik expo being held at the Thamrin City shopping center. Here, the 38-year-old gives us the lowdown on the batik industry and his impression of life in the capital.

So, taking part in this batik expo marks your first visit to Jakarta?

Yeah, that’s right. I have a family with four children in Wonogiri. I came specifically to showcase my products to the people of Jakarta. It’s also a chance to sell directly to customers. Back in my hometown I manufacture batik and sell it to merchants.

Who’s running the workshop back in Wonogiri then?

It’s a family business, so my brother is running it while I’m here.

How are sales here?

Very good. I can sell 10 pieces of batik a day, at Rp 300,000 [$30] per piece. Each piece is about four square meters. I also sell batik clothing for Rp 500,000 per item. I can also sell up to 10 of those on a good day here.

Wow, isn’t that kind of pricey?

That’s one of the reasons why I wanted to come to Jakarta, besides the chance to market my products. I want to teach people here about really good quality batik, because many Jakartans can’t tell the difference and they expect to purchase batik at very cheap prices. Jakartans expect to buy a piece of batik cloth for about Rp 30,000, but you can’t get good quality batik for those kinds of prices.

How do you tell good quality batik from the rest?

The good quality batik is not mass-produced. Handmade batik takes a whole month for the ink to dry, so you have to wait a long time before you can sell it. The poor quality batik is mass-printed.

What are your thoughts on Malaysia laying claim to batik?

I think it’s unfounded because batik is clearly a part of our culture, and any Indonesian can tell you that. Maybe it started from the fact that Indonesia and Malaysia are located close to each other, thus resulting in many similarities between us, leading to their claims. I believe that Malaysia’s batik may have originated from descendants of Indonesians.

What’s different about the Wonogiri batik and batik from other regions?

Wonogiri batik’s distinguishing feature is the use of scattered colors, while Cirebon batik uses animal motifs. Each of the regions has is own style. For example, Yogyakarta batik usually features traditional Indonesian shadow puppets, or wayang.

Would you prefer to do business in Jakarta?

Once Jakartans have learned about batik, I hope they will appreciate it more. I think it could be more profitable for me to sell batik here directly to customers, but Jakartans have to understand the manufacturing process so that they’ll become more passionate consumers. I want to sell batik here but continue producing it in Wonogiri in the future.

Now that you’ve been in Jakarta for a month, what’s different about life here compared to your hometown of Wonogiri?

Running something like a workshop is easier and more efficient there, as labor costs are cheaper. Jakartans are bigger consumers, so the ideal thing to do is to produce there and sell here. I hope to continue doing that in the future, and this expo gives me a good start.

What do you think of the government’s efforts to preserve batik?

I think they’ve been pretty good. The idea of holding expos like this is good, but I had hoped for the government to be quicker in creating trademarks for us to gain licensed rights to claim batik as a part of our culture.

What do you have to say to the young people of Jakarta about preserving their culture?

I hope the young people of Jakarta, and young Indonesians in general, will learn to appreciate batik more. I see our teenagers wearing T-shirts with pictures of Western pop stars more often than I see them wearing batik.