JAKARTA – Pekalongan Ecological Batik, supported by KEMITRAAN, is once again making an appearance at a major exhibition. This time, Ecological Batik is participating in Inacraft 2025 at the Jakarta Convention Center in Senayan, Central Jakarta, from October 1–5, with support from the Adaptation Fund and the Pekalongan City Government.
Ecological Batik is one of the projects in the climate change adaptation program in Pekalongan City, initiated by KEMITRAAN with funding support from the Adaptation Fund. The presence of Ecological Batik at Inacraft serves as a step to disseminate information to the public about climate change adaptation efforts, which also generate economic opportunities.
Initially, this project was a PARTNERSHIP effort to prevent groundwater pollution in Pekalongan City amidst the climate crisis exacerbated by synthetic batik waste. However, Ecological Batik, which uses natural dyes, has opened up new economic potential.
Didit Handika, Project Officer for KEMITRAAN in Pekalongan, stated that Ecological Batik, which uses natural dyes, does not pollute the environment or groundwater because the dyes are derived from plants. Some of the plants used as natural batik dyes include indigo, ketapang, and secang. The production process is also very water-efficient.
“Ecological batik differs from synthetic dyes, which require a lot of water. Ecological batik uses only a quarter of the water used in synthetic dye batik production. This reduces water pollution,” said Didit.
He added that initially, only a few batik makers from Pekalongan City joined the Ecological Batik group because the production process was longer and more complicated. However, over time, the batik makers who joined began to see results. They were able to sell their batik products at higher prices due to the more complex production process.
Didit also stated that batik makers nowadays aren’t just selling the motifs, but also the stories behind the production process. Given the compelling story of Ecological Batik, which uses plants as dyes, consumers are willing to pay more than those using synthetic dyes.
“Batik products, especially for international consumers, must be environmentally friendly and sustainable. They should be interested not only in the motifs but also in the manufacturing process,” said Didit.
This was confirmed by Andaru, one of the batik makers assisted by KEMITRAAN who exhibited his products at Inacraft. He said his products are mostly purchased by batik enthusiasts from abroad.
“Most of the buyers are from Japan. They buy batik,” Andaru said.
Didit added that since its inception, KEMITRAAN has been targeting Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) as partners in the Ecological Batik group. Based on KEMITRAAN’s mapping in Pekalongan, groundwater and clean water pollution generally occurs in residential areas. It is in these areas that most MSMEs produce batik.
Didit also stated that enthusiasm among batik makers in Pekalongan City is now growing, especially among large-scale batik makers. They see the growing potential for sales from natural dye batik.
“They were very interested because our approach ensures a full end-to-end process. We support everyone from production, institutions, raw materials, and marketing. They feel the commitment we’re building isn’t just a business commitment, but a sustainable, mutually supportive one,” said Didit.
“We hope that in the future, more batik makers will join Batik Ecologis so that the future of natural dye batik will be brighter,” he continued.
