In Love with South Tangerangs Culture

Neltys love of local culture encourages her to be involved in the batik industry and to popularize
South Tangerang batik. She believes that, with proper promotional campaigns, South Tangerang
batik will be able to compete with the batik of other regions. We are familiar with the batik of
Central Java and Yogyakarta. Now is the time for people to get to know South Tangerang batik,
Nelty said.

According to Nelty, South Tangerang batik has its own unique styles, such as pesona Krakatau
(Krakatau charm), batik benteng(fort batik), batik badakculasatu (one-horned rhino batik) and
batik RumahBlandongan. These patterns are based on the wealth of art and culture of the
Banten Province, she explained, adding that all of her batik products are based on South
Tangerang and Banten cultures. For example, the rumahblandonganis an iconic traditional house
in South Tangerang. The pesona Krakatau motif is based on Mt. Krakatau, an iconic tourism site
in Banten Province.

The history of South Tangerang batik began in 2004, when the SekarPurnama motif was born.
SekarPurnama is a motif with uniquely Banten design. More recently, the name SekarPurnama
became a brand of Neltys South Tangerang batik creation. The brands full name is
SekarPurnama South Tangerang Ethnic Batik. Due to the uniqueness of the South Tangerang
batik motif, Nelty has traveled abroad many times to promote it.

She has also enjoyed full support from the government. In 2008, when the Banten provincial
government held the National Koran Recital Competition (MTQ), her batik creations were worn
by VIP officials, including the president and ambassadors of Islamic countries. This was a
personal achievement for her and it brought widespread media attention to her products.

She said that she targeted the upper-middle class market with the SekarPurnama batik. I made it
for the middle-upper class, but it is up to the market [who wants to buy them], she said.

She added that promoting South Tangerang batik was not always easy as it was less popular than
Surakarta batik, for instance. Therefore, Nelty often participates in exhibitions both in Indonesia
and abroad. Thanks to Telkoms support, I often get the chance to participate in exhibitions,
she said. Due to her participation in numerous exhibitions and funding assistance from Telkom,
South Tangerang batik is becoming increasingly popular.

Apart from participating in exhibitions, her online shop is also an effective marketing medium.
Nelty says that online marketing is a necessity in todays digital world. At first, I did not quite
understand online marketing, but Telkom through its RumahKreatif BUMN [State-Owned
Enterprise Creative Home] program provides online business marketing training sessions. I hope
that people can easily find South Tangerang batik on blanja.com, Nelty said.