Pertamina's Fostered Partner with Millenial Mindset Commits to Popularize Kalimantan Batik

Jakarta, April 13, 2021- Age is not limited to being an entrepreneur and helping others by providing employment opportunities. That spirit is what Pertamina develops in its fostered partners by delivering positive energy through the Partnership Program. Pertamina will foster them to become an upgraded micro and small enterprises (MSE).

Sri Sunarti also showed this spirit. Pertamina's fostered partner, the owner of the Iwatik business, is no longer young. However, her youthful spirit is applied in each of her works. "My target market is millennials. Apart from the large number, this is also an effort to make batik wear a culture for young people," she said.

It all started with her desire to learn batik in 2017. Every time there is an affordable batik training activity, she always participated. "Wherever there is training, I participate. In Family Welfare Program (PKK), then in Samarinda, I took part in training to make batik. It turns out that casting and painting are fun," said the 58-year-old woman.

Capitalizing on the basic cloth owned, hand-drawn batik work with Balikpapan or Kalimantan motifs can be made into one sheet. This motive is in great demand by the public, including from government agencies. The batik motifs offered are Karang Munting, Lengkungan Kaltim, Cemara and other motifs.

The Iwatik shop is located at Jalan RE Martadinata No. 31 Balikpapan Central East Kalimantan. In making batik, she is assisted by an employee with a disability and a mother. Apart from being assisted by two employees, Sri Sunarti is also assisted by her child. Hand-drawn batik products are priced at IDR 600 thousand for 2 meters, while printed batik is priced at IDR 75 thousand per sheet.

Now, her business is not just looking for profit. However, she also shared knowledge by opening a batik class held at the Central Balikpapan Job Training Center (BLK). "I am grateful to be Pertamina's fostered partner. Alhamdulillah, the demand for batik is running smoothly, and more people are willing to learn to make Kalimantan batik," added Sunarti.

Senior Vice President of Corporate Communications & Investor Relations of Pertamina, Agus Suprijanto, added that Pertamina would continue to support local cultural products development to make it more global. Especially batik as a world cultural heritage from Indonesia. "We must protect all of this by preserving the artisans and MSEs engaged in this field. Therefore they can develop and upgrade to the global stage," he said.  

According to Agus, through the Partnership Program, Pertamina always wants to provide the energy that drives the economy--energy that becomes fuel and energy that generates sustainable growth. It is also implementing the 8th goal of SDGs, which is to provide decent work and support economic growth.

Apart from SDGs, Pertamina also tries to implement ESG in the social sector. ESG or Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG) Management is the company's step in running its business that focuses on long-term business sustainability. In this way, Pertamina is confident that it can consistently generate economic benefits in the community following environmental and social responsibilities.**