Amuntai, S Kalimantan (ANTARA) - The North Hulu Sungai (HSU) District Government, South Kalimantan, is now preparing a cutting machine to help the local craftsmen to produce non-plastic straw from wild purun grass to meet the Dutch customer order.
Head of HSU Industry, Trade, Cooperatives, Small and Medium Enterprises Agency (Disperindagkop UKM) Ahmad Redhani Effendi said here on Thursday that the agency is now waiting for the machine to help the craftsmen.
"The craftsmen cut purun sticks to make straw one by one by using razor blade so as not to break, whereas the order from the Netherlands is 200,000 for each month," Redhani pointed out.
Meanwhile, Supian Nor, chief of Kembang Ilung joint enterprise group (KUB) in Banyu Hirang Village, said cutting cannot be done in a large number at once, but one by one and makes it slow to produce. while using a knife will cause the straw to break.
That is why the KUB still hard to meet the demand. In one month, they can only produce 100,000 sticks, for the reason of limited labor and technology.
Whereas the straw must meet the buyer's requirements in shape, length, not deformed, hole round, dry and clean.
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Actually, Redhani acknowledged, the Dutch's demand to the KUB Kembang Ilung through the third party in Bali has been running for a long time, by sending semi-finished products.
"Our lack is not only in machinery, but also in the number of quality craftsmen, so the KUB Kembang Ilung cannot meet the demand," he explained.
KUB Kembang Ilung is a model of joint enterprise group, whose purun grass and water hyacinth craft products have been marketed overseas, such as Netherlands, Germany, and Japan.
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Redhani said the guidance and training are kept being provided to help craftsmen to produce purun grass and water hyacinth crafts with a better design and motif. The problem is some craftsmen choose weekly earnings by fulfilling middlemen's orders.
"Middlemen only sell semi-finished products and the price is very cheap," Redhani said.
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