Take A Look At Masaran Batik Tourism Village
The image of the city of batik is indeed attached to Surakarta City (Solo City). However, Sragen Regency is also the center of batik producers for Solo-Jogja clusters. Now, there are more than 100 batik SMEs that are developed with thousands of labor. Plus, there are more than 1,000 batik craftsmen which have small factories to produce batik.
If you walk through two villages in Masaran District namely Pilang and Kliwonan, you will see batik everywhere. Normally, the batik traffic is so crowded with visitors who personally want to know about batik and the batik distribution to many company partners from any region.
Slightly, the front yard of locals' houses in Pilang or Kliwonan Village is not looked like the center of batik but the back yard will make you amazed. It is because the factory is usually in the back yard of locals' houses and almost all families in Pilang Village own a batik factory. Now, in these past five years, Jati Village has also started to show its existence as the new center of batik.
Masaran which was known for its watermelon now changes its image as a batik tourism village. The batik quality has been approved by the product export overseas. If you want to visit Kliwonan and Pilang Batik Tourism Village, there is Masaran Market as the mark. You have to turn left from the Masaran Market t-junction. Around 4 km, you will arrive at your destination.
The motive of animals and plants is the specialty of Masaran Sragen Batik. There is a philosophy of "blaka suka" which has the meaning of an open and honest character. Batik is honesty that must be revealed. When you visit the batik village, you will feel it through the local people's character.
This art comes from a word amba (fabric) and titik (dot; giving a motive on fabric through dots). There are types of batik that we can find in Masaran Batik Tourism Village such as:
Handmade Batik
Handmade batik is produced manually with a tool named canting to paint hot wax on fabric. The making process of handmade batik needs high patience and painstaking since every dot in a motive will affect the final result. This is the reason behind the highest price of handmade batik compared to other types of batik. Handmade batik can be found easily in Kliwonan Batik
Cabut Batik or Semi-Written Batik
This batik is produced by a printing method which is combined with a handmade method in decorating the batik pattern.
Stamp Batik
Stamp batik is made by using a batik-motive stamp made from copper. The stamp is like an iron and it is used to replace the function of canting to reduce the production time.
All those batik production processes can be learned in Kliwonan or Pilang Village. The stamp batik can be an alternative as a souvenir if you have not bought the handmade batik that prices start from 300,000s IDR per meter.
If you have known batik, the price will not sound so expensive. It is because the handmade batik is produced exclusively using the natural color from Jambal and Tengger wood so it does not cause allergies. Plus, the color will never change or fade.
Happy exploring in Masaran Batik Tourism Village! (Wiwin)
