To further introduce and market the products of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), the Malang City Government and PT Aaliyah Cipta Pradana held an exhibition entitled Gebyar Wisata Tukang Tukang Kriduk Nusantara at the Olympic Garden Mall (MOG) Malang, Thursday (30/4).
Among the SME participants who took part in this exhibition were Sanan tempeh chips craftsmen (one of the areas in Malang City that is famous for its tempeh industry center_ed), Sri Bawon Rahayu, clothes painter Naniek Suprapto, Griya Batik Srikandi. The participants from Malang City mingled with participants from various corners of the country who participated in the exhibition.
Sri Bawon Rahayu admitted that she was proud that the chips she made could develop as they are now and are in great demand by people from all over the country and abroad. Her products have also become a regular customer of the President of the Republic of Indonesia and also the ministers.
"With exhibitions like this, my chips can be known to the public. Therefore, I am very grateful that the Malang City Government can facilitate it," explained Sri Bawon, Thursday (30/4).
Sri Bawon said, as a woman who only graduated from grade three of elementary school and could not read and write well, she did not expect her business to grow as it is now. Because initially in the 80s she only sold tempeh chips made from tempeh that she sold and did not sell which she then processed.
"The price of my tempeh chips at that time was only Rp 200 per pack. Now the price varies, starting from Rp 10.000," said Sri Bawon.
From this experience, Sri Bawon advised SMEs in Malang City to dare to promote by actively participating in exhibitions. Because in this way a business can be promoted so that it is better known and in demand by the public which can automatically increase the number of customers.
In line with Sri Bawon, Naniek Suprapto from Dekranasda (Regional National Craft Council_ed) of Malang City confirmed that participating in exhibitions is indeed very good for promoting a product. Therefore, even though many requests for painted clothes have come to her house, she always makes time to participate in exhibitions.
"From an exhibition, I usually get a lot of new ideas to make my products better from day to day," said Naniek.
Meanwhile, Januaransyah Basuki, who is the organizing committee of the exhibition, said that the wealth of Indonesian crafts is extraordinary, only so far it has not been exposed. With this exhibition, it is hoped that crafts from various regions in Indonesia can be lifted.
"We are holding this exhibition to prepare SMEs in Indonesia to be able to compete when the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) is truly underway," said Januar.
There are 45 exhibition booths, Januar continued, both from Malang City, various regions in East Java, North Sumatra, East Kalimantan, Bandung, Jambi, Lombok, and various other regions in Indonesia. The exhibition in Malang City will last for five days, starting from April 30, 2015 to May 3, 2015. (cah/yon)
