Boundless Creativity in Sukaruas

Seeing the huge potential in local and foreign markets, craftspeople initiated the Sukaruas Creative Kampong Association.

Kompas/Dedi Muhtadi

Dadan Rukmana, 47, holds up a bag, one of the many handcraft products made by the craftsmen of Kampung Kreatif Sukaruas in Sukaraja village, Rajapolah district, Tasikmalaya regency, West Java. Sukaruas village is one of the centers of pandanus weaving in Rajapolah, Tasikmalaya.

An intertwining of government programs and the people’s sense of self-empowerment has launched Rajapolah district as a national center of woven handcrafts. Included in this district is the “Creative Kampong” of Sukaruas in Sukaraja village. Its products have traveled to a number of foreign countries, such as Japan.

The craftspeople in Sukaruas kampong at first developed separate businesses without any networking, such as for purchasing raw materials and promoting their final products.