I started KaIND in 2015, when I needed to return to my hometown Pasuruan. At that time, I often spent my spare time exploring the villages near my home to find its potential. One day, I met a villager who made a handwoven mat to sell, she told me that her village used to be a center of handweaving artisans. She then introduced me to one of the senior hand-weavers that unfortunately is facing financial difficulty to continue his handwoven industry. 

Through our conversation, I learned that he used to produce handwoven sarongs and headscarves for both local and international markets. His business once flourished until he could export his product to Middle East countries such as Egypt. However, due to the harsh competition with the fast fashion industry, he could not continue his business. The orders kept decreasing and the youngsters of the village did not want to learn about hand weaving techniques because they thought it had no future. Soon after, his business began facing bankruptcy. It was a very saddening view, to see the ATBM or manual handweaving tools laid unused and weathered. 

I found out similar stories when I met senior batik artisans that live around my neighborhood as well. Pasuruan actually has distinctive batik patterns just like other regions in Indonesia. However, due to the ready-made batik garment industry which offered batik clothes at much cheaper price, it is hard to find successors of this beautiful local wisdom. It is very disheartening because I felt that hand-drawn batik has a lot of potential and commercial value. 

The awakening

I was really inspired and moved by the stories from those senior local artisans. Using my background in fashion design and my experiences of working at the FashionTV Channel in Jakarta, I was determined to revive this humble industry and explore its potential. I tried to set up a small community that consisted of handweaver seniors and batik artisans. Together we created new textures of handweaving fabrics that will suit modern markets. We also explore new batik designs that represent the cultural beauty of Pasuruan. We took inspiration from the iconic places such as Bromo mountain and its famous Pasir Berbisik, and elaborated local flora such as Tuberose, Chrysanthemum and Orchids in our new pattern. 

Firstly I tried to sell our fabric to my friends and family under the brand KaIND, which stands for Kain Indonesia or Indonesian fabric. To fulfill the demand of the modern market, I set up digital platforms to sell KaIND products as well. It began with the launch of our official website and Instagram account, and expanded into other marketplace such as Tokopedia and Shopee. 

On the other hand, our small community has grown. People from various social backgrounds joined and learned the art of handweaving and hand-drawn batik enthusiastically.  We had employees that used to work as construction workers and truck drivers. There are also single mothers and fresh graduates from local high school, as well as unemployed ones who finally find their new skill in batik making. 

KaIND as a company

Finally, in 2017 this community was legalized as a company called CV. Karya Temanesia. Besides empowering our local artisans and reviving the Pasuruan batik and handwoven craft, we want to be a sustainable fashion brand who is able to make an impact as Indonesian representatives in the global market. We use natural dyes to advocate the importance of giving back to nature as an eco-conscious brand. As a slow fashion brand, the manual production of handweaving and hand-drawn batik making helps us to reduce the carbon footprint compared to the fast fashion industries. 

We are also committed to creating a safe and comfortable working place that provides our artisans a good air circulation and endless opportunity for them to grow their skills. We care about their welfare and make sure they earn a proper salary. Within the past 5 years, we have been refining our production line and grew our team from just around 2 to 50 artisans. We are honored to be able to work with so many talented individuals that allows KaIND to thrive locally and globally. Now, besides producing handwoven batik scarves, we were able to expand our fashion items such as men and women apparel, homeliving and shoes collections. In the future, KaIND will always commit to proudly continue to introduce Pasuruan local wisdom and support new generations of handweaving and batik artisans.

Warmest regards,

Melie