Rendeng has developed its pottery and ceramics production center into an edutourism destination. Edutourism is one innovative way that can help the potters and their craft to survive.
By
Adi Sucipto Kisswara
·5 minutes read
Kompas/Adi Sucipto
A kiosk attendant watches over various ceramics on display in Rendeng village, Malo district, Bojonegoro regency, East Java. To meet public demand, artisans create piggybanks with various themes, such as Doraemon, Hello Kitty, Sopo Jarwo, Sponge Bob, Minions and other film and cartoon characters. The village also offers a tour package that teachers tourists about making ceramics.
Not many people know how pottery is made, so their curiosity is aroused by public exhibits that showcase the pottery-making process. Such occasions see the attendance of not a few people, including children, and potters get creative in making pottery of all shapes, such as cartoon characters.
Alvin, 10, did not care that his forehead was painted red. A section of his hair was painted yellow. Annisa, 9, was the same. She had blue paint on her blouse, while her hands were covered in white paint.
The two students of Sudu 2 elementary school in Gayam district were painting ceramic piggy banks. Alvin was painting a piggy bank shaped like an owl, while Annisa was painting a penguin-shaped piggy bank. The pair was taking part in Pottery Education Tour at the pottery and ceramics center in Rendeng village, Malo district, Bojonegoro regency, East Java.
Aside from the students of Sudu 2 elementary school, dozens of students from SD Kuncen 2 elementary school in Padangan district and Madrasah Ibtidaiyah Asy Syakur Nglingi in Ngasem district also joined the tour. The group was led by youths from the Karang Taruna Satria Muda who were also members of the Rendeng Pottery Awareness Tour Group (Pokdarwis Gendeng).
Besides painting their animal-shaped piggy banks, the students learned how pottery is made, from throwing the clay to the final painting stage. They also tried their hand at making piggy banks from clay using molds.
Piggy banks
The most popular kinds of Rendeng pottery are piggy banks and kitchenware such as layah (a kind of mortar-and-pestle), flasks and clay pots for cooking. The piggy banks produced in Malo are shaped into animals of all kinds like tigers, zebras, lions, cows, chickens and monkeys.
Since 2014, the pottery and ceramics artisans have innovated to produce piggy banks shaped like cartoon characters, including Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Spongebob, Doraemon, Winnie the Pooh, Patrick, Hello Kitty, Sopo Jarwo and Marsha. Their aim was to make pottery that was attractive to children.
According to Ismail, 58, he started making the new forms pottery when visitors from Tuban ordered piggy banks that resembled cartoon characters. "There were 37 different kinds in the order. I asked for a picture of the shape, and then made them by hand. There were no molds," he said.
He completed the orders in about three weeks for Rp 7,000 each. Finally, he took the initiative and included the cartoon characters in his “catalog” and ordered molds to meet the many requests. "I am proud, [and] now young people can develop their knowledge further through the educational tour," said Ismail.
Innovating the cartoon character pottery was an effort not only to maintain the business, but also to introduce piggy banks to children. From preschool to high schools and university students, and even their mothers, all visitors can learn how to make piggy banks from clay. They can take home the piggy bank they paint.
Rendeng has developed its pottery and ceramics production center into an edutourism destination. Pottery craftsman Mujtaba, 34, said the concept was implemented in June 2015, together with Talhah, 42, Ismail, 58, and Muchtarom.
The cartoons beloved by children inspired the idea. Finally, the molds were made from gypsum. This was a different process from making animal-shaped piggy banks by hand. The cartoon character pottery grew in popularity, until Rendeng was turned into an edutourism destination.
In a single month, about 1,000 visitors come to the village. The largest number of visitors usually arrives on the weekend, especially on Saturdays. "Actually, we limit each visit to a maximum of 150 students. However, sometimes there are sudden visits without earlier confirmation," he said.
Schools can choose among packages ranging from Rp 10,000 to Rp 25,000 per student. In the Rp 25,000 package, for example, each student will receive a painted piggy bank, a second piggy bank of a different shape other characters and a boxed lunch.
Visitors can also buy a variety of differently shaped ceramic piggy banks. Prices range from Rp 5,000 to Rp 20,000 for cartoon-character piggy banks or Rp 12,000 for piggy banks in shaped like a car. The piggy banks shaped like cartoon characters are also distributed to Gresik and Surabaya.
In this modern era, people rarely use piggy banks for saving money. They usually buy piggy banks for use as a corner decoration in homes.
Edutourism is one innovative way that can help the potters and their craft to survive.
Robet Syaifun Nawas, an instructor of the pottery program, said pottery and ceramics survived in Rendeng in many different shapes. Aside from animal-shaped piggy banks, there are also piggy banks shaped like wayang puppets. Potters can also train with experts from the Yogyakarta Arts Institute to make fine ceramic piggy banks, or take part in a comparative study to Bali and Dinoyo Malang.
