Bisnis.com, JAKARTA – The National Craft Council (Dekranas) in collaboration with Pegadaian has partnered with fashion designer Samuel Wattimena to design crafts that represent the values of the diverse layers of Indonesian society.

The designs were applied to eco-friendly shopping bags and face masks for health protection during the new normal lifestyle amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

As a result, Sammy, as Samuel is called, successfully combined Pacitan batik as the base motif with woven products from the SME Du Anyam from Flores, East Nusa Tenggara, into contemporary shopping bags.

Elizabeth Thohir, Head of the Funding Division of Dekranas, said that the designs inspired by Indonesia's cultural richness carry messages of mutual cooperation, collaboration, openness, and trust.

This aligns with state-owned enterprises (BUMN) like Pegadaian, which are present to provide solutions within the community and contribute to economic development and improvement through social responsibility programs.

"One example is the designs and products created by Samuel Wattimena for Pegadaian. This is proof that culture can be an inspiration to encourage all of us to live with the new normal and together overcome the Covid-19 pandemic,” said Elizabeth in a press statement on Tuesday (22/9/2020).

The involvement of the SME Du Anyam, Elizabeth continued, is in line with Dekranas' idea of helping the craft SME sector, which has been shaken by the Covid-19 pandemic.

By appointing SMEs to produce designs by Indonesian designers, this will be a strategic, fast, and concrete step to revive small and medium-sized businesses.

Du Anyam itself is an SME consisting of talented women in Flores, East Nusa Tenggara.

With products that are already globally competitive, this SME aims to empower women in NTT, promote Indonesian culture, and improve the health quality of women, especially in underdeveloped areas.

In addition to Pegadaian, Dekranas has also collaborated with several renowned designers and other state-owned enterprises, such as Pertamina, PT Telkom, Bank BNI, and Bank Mandiri, with the mission of helping the SME sector rise amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

Source: Bisnis.com