Starfruit (malangkota.go.id) – The textile and clothing craft art exhibition entitled Jelang Julang #4 was held at the Malang Creative Center (MCC) in Malang City. The event, which lasted for three days, from 11-13 February 2025, was not only a space for exhibitions of works, but also an educational medium for the community. One of them was through the Silkworm Cultivation Workshop which was held on the first day of Jelang Julang #4, Tuesday (11/2/2025).
Silk fabric has the advantage of being soft, making it very comfortable to wear. Silk fabric with proper storage will also last longer. In addition, silk fashion products have the advantage of being more environmentally friendly and sustainable. Moreover, if the thread produced by silkworms is of the type Samia cynthia ricini. Silkworm farming is not only economically profitable, but also supports environmental sustainability.
In this workshop, Jelang Julang #4 presents Kupu Sutera, a company from East Java that operates from upstream to downstream to produce samia silk fiber. The initiator of Kupu Sutera, Arianto Nugroho said that his party wants to provide an understanding for the younger generation, that the textile industry is not only for profit, but how to keep the earth sustainable.
Arianto said that currently the textile industry is filled with clothing materials that in the manufacturing process until after use do not pay attention to the environmental impact because they are made from chemicals. "We are also trying to change mindset teenagers, the younger generation, with more environmentally friendly products, not polluting the earth, preserving nature and the future. This silk will not pollute the environment, but will decay by itself," explained Arianto.
Arianto also said that the advantage of silk is that it is anti-allergic, because it comes from the protein of the caterpillar itself. It can also be dyed, but silk fabric products use natural dyes so they do not damage nature.
The man who has been engaged in silkworm cultivation since 2015 said that now many young people are interested in cultivating silkworms. Kupu Sutera is also often a destination for study and training related to silk cultivation and production. "Many (young people) are now interested in cultivating silkworms. We provide free training, including seeds," he said.
Meanwhile, the initiator of Jelang Julang #4, Fikrah Riyanda, revealed that in this annual event there were six workshops attended by students from various school levels, starting from Kindergarten, Elementary School, Middle School, High School/Vocational School and Special Needs School as well as communities with a total of 1.200 participants.
"The main purpose of Jelang Julang is to be a means of education. Not only an exhibition, Jelang Julang also provides various workshops related to textile crafts for students. This activity wants to be an inspiration to foster interest in becoming successors to the textile craft industry," he concluded. (ari/yn)
