YOUNG GENERATION EMPOWERMENT IN THE PRESERVATION OF BATIK AS A LOCAL WISDOM PRODUCT IN THE DIGITAL AGE

Abstract

Batik is an Indonesian people's product of art, culture, and economy based on local wisdom that needs to be preserved and developed in the digital era. This research aim is to design a program to empower the young generation of batik craftsmen. The Participatory Learning Action (PLA) method was chosen to construct a participatory and implementation empowerment program. The data was collected through simulations and the practice of batik as a medium for interviews, focus group discussions, documentation, and observation. The selection of research subjects by purposive sampling were high school and vocational students, besides batik craftsmen groups in the sub-District of Susukan, Banjarneara Regency, Central Java. Participatory data analysis through construction, triangulation, and verification of data was conducted with the community research subject.  The results show (1) that the programs and implementation of the empowerment of batik craftsmen are lacking attention from the younger generation. Creating comprehensive and sustainable empowerment needs the support of all related parties. (2) The improvement of motivation and inspiration to be batik craftsmen and entrepreneurs, to design motifs, make and color batik, then promotion and digital marketing strategies as important points of the batik craftsmen empowerment program.