The Emergence and existence of sustainable craft practices: Case studies from Indonesia and Thailand

Abstract

After having conducted wide-ranging research on how the creative businesses in Thailand employ the notion of sustainability in their practices, I decided to explore the sustainability issues further in a more specific, yet broader scope - the craft and design industries in other Southeast Asian countries. I initially chose to do ethnographic fieldwork in Indonesia because it is one of the world's largest craft exporters. Funded by the British Council, I carried out ethnographic research in Java and Bali in relationship to the establishment of the new Indonesian International Design Centre or IIDC in Yogyakarta. As now I have gained competent knowledge from my extensive research and work experience with the United States Agency for International Development, this paper presents interesting findings and subtly develops a comparison of craft practices in Indonesia and Thailand. It offers three case studies, two from Indonesia and one from Thailand, which look at various issues around the notion of sustainability within the local, contemporary craft practices. The case studies include the followings:
1. When Balinese Culture Meets Globalisation: Cultural Artefacts Versus Productive
Commodities
2. The Power Structure within the Indonesian Craft Industries
3. Doi Tung Development Project: Craft Practices for Sustainable Livelihoods of Ethnic Minority in the North of Thailand

According to the economic history of Southeast Asia, ASEAN economies have been enormously trade-oriented by nature. As they aim to accelerate economic growth, social progress and cultural development in the region, creative practices play a crucial role in the economies of ASEAN countries. UNESCO also asserted that the handicraft sector is a major contributor to sustainable economic development at the eradication of poverty in local economies. (UNESCO Bangkok 2007) However, like most countries in Southeast Asia, Indonesia and Thailand have experienced rapid industrial and urban development and have been greatly affected by the globalisation of capitalism. Folk wisdom and indigenous knowledge have played a less and less important role in making a living within these modernised societies. For a number of craft practitioners to survive the modern world, they have gradually gone through the transition to modernity as they have developed their techniques, created the new aesthetic quality and adapted their perception on marketing. But to pursue the sustainable future, there are a number of factors involved and things vary from one place to another since contexts are different.