Pertamina Helps Hereditary Business Songket Silungkang Stay Preserved and Sustainable to Strengthen SDGs and ESG Commitments

Jakarta, May 17, 2021 – The traditional and fabrics richness owned by Indonesia should be preserved by all parties. PT Pertamina (Persero) also takes a role by fostering Indonesia’s cloth craftsmen through the Partnership Program. These micro and small enterprises (MSEs) are fostered and assisted until they can be upgraded MSEs and Go Global.

This is what Hamamul Fauzi Basri has felt. This Pertamina’s fostered partner who owns Songket Silungkang Aina business is the third generation of the songket business based in Silungkang, Sawahlunto City, West Sumatera. “Starting from my grandparents, then continued by my mother, Mrs. Aina, and now I am also carrying on,” he explained.

According to Fauzi, Silungkang songket has several superiorities compared by other songket. The use of more fabric threads than gold threads makes Silungkang songket feels lighter. Besides used for sarongs and scarves, Silungkang songket can be applied to clothing, tablecloths, curtains, wall pictures, shoes, and sandals.

Fauzi told the story of his family in running this business. Especially during the monetary crisis in 1998, his mother had to lay off hundreds of workers. However, thanks to his parents’ creativity, the business can run again with a partnership system. “Those hundreds of workers have now become partners. Although it can create new competitors, this concept is less risky and helps them,” he said.

Fauzi’s family will prepare the motives and the quality standard that must be met. Then it is done by the partner in weavering, afterwards, the fabrics will be bought again by Fauzi. This effort is one of the 8th Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) implementation, which is providing decent work and supporting economic growth.

Regarding the price, Silungkang songket is priced from IDR 350 thousand to millions of rupiah. Apart from being marketed directly in Silungkang production center, Fauzi has now own a songket outlet located in Pusat Pertokoan Pasar Atas Bukit Tinggi, Fl.3 No.80 and 48.

Since becoming Pertamina’s fostered partner in 2018, his business has experienced significant development. From the addition of workers by 50 percent that is initially 5 people have now become 10 people. In terms of the turnover, it increases by 20 percent to IDR 30 million per month. Until the expansion of the marketing area to all over Indonesia due to digital marketing through social media @songket_aina.

Acting Senior Vice President of Corporate Communications & Investor Relations of Pertamina, Fajriyah Usman, added that Pertamina will continue to support businesses like the one Fauzi and his family are doing. “Although songket is a type of traditional woven cloth from the Malay family from Indonesia, Malaysia, and Brunei, some of them grow and develop into special regional fabrics in Indonesia, such as this Silungkang songket,” she said.

According to Fajriyah, through this Partnership Program, Pertamina wants to be able to present the energy that drives the economy. The energy that becomes fuel, as well as the energy that generates sustainable growth.

Pertamina always supports the achievement of the 8th point of SDGs through the implementation of ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) based programs in all of its operational areas. This is a part of environmental and social responsibility in order to realize economic benefits in society.**