Tasikmalaya embroidery during the COVID-19 pandemic: Local entrepreneurs and their wisdom-based resilience

Abstract

During the COVID-19 pandemic, many local industries went into bankruptcy while trying to adapt to new conditions. Such downfalls were marked by a decline in sales and the disruption of production processes due to a decrease in the availability of raw materials. To limit the spread of Covid-19, the Indonesian government implemented the Large-Scale Social Restrictions (Pembatasan Sosial Berskala Besar/PSBB) and, later, the Enforcement of Restrictions on Community Activities (Pemberlakuan Pembatasan Kegiatan Masyarakat/PPKM), leading to a major decline in local economic activity. However, these circumstances also led to the emergence of many entrepreneurs who survived the crisis only to encounter greater demand for embroidery products. This study assesses the resilience of entrepreneurs in the embroidery industry in Tasikmalaya during the COVID-19 pandemic with a particular focus on the impacts of the pandemic through the end of 2022. This study employs both qualitative and quantitative methods to produce an observation-based historiography. Through a comprehensive literature review, direct observation, and in-depth interviews with embroidery entrepreneurs in Kawalu District of Tasikmalaya in West Java, this study identifies various forms of resilience as a method of adaptation in a time of crisis. This resilience stemmed from multiple determining factors: (1) strong local adaptive capacity and creativity; (2) the production of manual embroidery (handmade) products targeting upper-middle class consumers; (3) the forecasting ability of entrepreneurs in differentiating markets; and (4) the attachment between local (Sundanese) and religious (Islam) values guiding the social and economic actions of entrepreneurs.

Keywords:

• entrepreneurship
• local wisdom
• Sundanese
• embroidery
• Tasikmalaya
• Covid-19
• social action

Public interest statement

The enforcement of Large-Scale Social Restrictions (Pembatasan Sosial Berskala Besar/PSBB), followed by the Restriction on Community Activities (Pemberlakuan Pembatasan Kegiatan Masyarakat/PPKM), leading to a major decline in local economic activity. Many local industries have gone into bankruptcy in the process of adapting to the new condition, while these circumstances also led to the emergence of many entrepreneurs who survived the crisis only to encounter greater demand for embroidery products. This study assesses the resilience of entrepreneurs in the embroidery industry in Tasikmalaya during the COVID-19 pandemic with a particular focus on the impacts of the pandemic through the end of 2022. Through a comprehensive literature review, direct observation, and in-depth interviews with embroidery entrepreneurs in Kawalu District of Tasikmalaya in West Java, this study identifies various forms of resilience as a method of adaptation in a time of crisis, stemming from multiple determining factors: (1) strong local adaptive capacity and creativity; (2) the production of manual embroidery (handmade) products targeting upper-middle class consumers; (3) the forecasting ability of entrepreneurs in differentiating markets; and (4) the attachment between local (Sundanese) and religious (Islam) values guiding the social and economic actions of entrepreneurs.

1. Introduction

Covid-19, which was declared a global pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) on 12 March 2020, had widespread impacts on various sectors of the global economy. This declaration put heavy pressure on the health sector and significantly agitated the economic sector. According to Wenzel et al. (2020), COVID-19 affected businesses at various levels in Indonesia, including micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs). During the pandemic, Indonesian MSMEs experienced a substantial decline in production, thus lowering their total income and forcing them to lay off employees (Pakpahan & Fitriani, 2020).

Revenues in the business sector plummeted alongside declining sales and disrupted production processes. The global pandemic also hindered the availability of raw materials, causing supplies to continuously dwindle. The Indonesian government worked to mitigate the spread of the virus through various policies, including the Large-Scale Social Restrictions (Pembatasan Sosial Berskala Besar/PSBB) and the Enforcement of Restrictions on Community Activities (Pemberlakuan Pembatasan Kegiatan Masyarakat/PPKM). The former was implemented early in the pandemic in March 2020, while the latter was a 2021 continuation that offered slightly alleviated restrictions. The enforcement, which took effect on 11 January 2021, initially regulated only Java and Bali. Following the rise of the Delta variant, the government issued the emergency enforcement on 20 July 2021, which applied to all of Indonesia. This state of emergency required all workers in non-essential sectors to work from home, while essential sectors could still operate at 50% capacity. The policy severely hampered public activity, as most shopping centers were closed and more stringent licensing was required for traveling. Furthermore, the stability of the most basic economic law of supply and demand was shaken.

During the pandemic, many small/home industries collapsed; this included the embroidery industry in Tasikmalaya, which Liyundzira (2021) found to be severely affected. The productivity and profits of both entrepreneurs and craftsmen were disrupted by deteriorating financial conditions. At the same time, public restrictions encouraged them to shift to the digital marketplace via a number of e-commerce platforms (Sari et al., 2022). Many managed to survive through resilient adaptation, further expanding their market share. Such adaptation has produced unusual outcomes, as evidenced by Hajjah Atikah, the owner of Dewi Bordir, Hajjah Mimin, the owner of Min’s Bordir, and Hajjah Giatry and Hajjah Risa Ardita. During the pandemic, with a state of crisis looming in the background, their embroidery businesses not only survived but also expanded into foreign markets, such as Malaysia and the Middle East. Hence, this research was carried out as an in-depth exploration of this phenomenon.

This study gathers previous research on the resilience of the handicraft industry during the pandemic as part of a literature review. Nurazizah and Prasodjo (2022) asserted that there was no relationship between the adaptive capacity and strength of human capital and the economic resilience of embroidery entrepreneurship in Tasikmalaya. They found that the imbalance in local supply and demand chains was resolved through the use of cargo expeditions for product distribution. The entrepreneurs also employed a hospitable and familiar work environment by helping their artisans to keep their households running during the pandemic.

Fakhriati and Erman (2022) examined the resilience of embroidery entrepreneurs in two Sumatra villages: Balai Gurah, Agam District, West Sumatra and Garot, Pidie District, Aceh. The majority of people in both villages were embroidery artisans whose families had held that occupation for generations. This research identified various forms of resilience during the pandemic, the most peculiar one being the way these people based their entrepreneurship on local wisdom, including Islamic teachings and customary rules. The community saw the embroidery craft as a key element of its cultural heritage. This is evident in the example of Haji Wawan Setiawan Nawawi, who is discussed further later in this paper.

These findings call to mind the research conducted by Jamilah et al. (2016), which focused on the entanglement between Islamic and Sundanese moral ethics in embroidery entrepreneurship in Tasikmalaya. They found that embroidery entrepreneurs and artisans could survive modern capitalist economic practices due to the strong link between local Sundanese cultural values and Islamic teachings embraced by the majority of people in Kawalu District, Tasikmalaya.

Only a few studies have specifically discussed the sociocultural resilience of embroidery entrepreneurship in Tasikmalaya (e.g., Nurazizah & Prasodjo, 2022; Sari et al., 2022), and these studies have generally emphasized the economic aspects of entrepreneurial strategies. Thus, in line with Jamilah et al. (2016), this research aims to fill the research gap by examining the role of local wisdom and religious values in entrepreneurial practices. Complementing the work of Jamilah et al. (2016), this article explores the strong adaptive capacity and creativity of embroidery entrepreneurs who were able to survive and flourish in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. It elaborates how COVID-19 affected embroidery entrepreneurs in Tasikmalaya through an examination of the factors underlying their adaptation process and local wisdom-based resilience. Ultimately, it assesses the impact of COVID-19 on the entrepreneurship and craftmanship of the embroidery industry in Kawalu District, Tasikmalaya, explores the strategies that the population employed to adapt to the economic excesses of the pandemic in the economic field, and considers the implications of embracing religious-cultural values in the face of a crisis.

2. Materials and methods

This research employs a qualitative approach by constructing a study on the role of religious and cultural values in the establishment of the entrepreneurial attitudes of the Sundanese in Tasikmalaya. It uses both primary and secondary sources. The primary sources consist of data from direct interviews with respondents using two different methods: guided questionnaires and structured interviews held in a closed forum. The secondary sources comprise statistical data from the local government of Tasikmalaya as well as multiple relevant pieces of literature from different libraries and archival institutions. These secondary sources support and strengthen the results extracted from the primary sources, ensuring the accuracy and novelty of this study’s findings.

Direct observation was key to obtaining a holistic understanding of how cultural values produced certain behaviors in the considered communities. These direct observations included an excursion to production sites owned by embroidery entrepreneurs to get a better sense of the local business ethic, way of working, lifestyle, and entrepreneurial inclinations.

This research combines qualitative and quantitative methods. Qualitatively, it relies on data from archival institutions, libraries, contemporary newspapers, and interviews. Quantitatively, it uses survey data from entrepreneurs and embroidery craftsmen in Tasikmalaya. The survey was designed to collect data on the development of the embroidery industry in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. The survey results were then enhanced using interview data with three embroidery entrepreneurs who each represent a unique generation, scope of business, and survival strategy (see Figure 1.) in a Focus Group Discussion session. The data collected from the survey and interviews are analyzed using different methods and techniques. Statistical software was employed to analyze trends, while thematic analysis was used to identify key themes and patterns. Regarding the surveys, the sample was selected through purposive sampling to ensure that the selected samples were sufficient and representative of the population. Regarding the in-depth interviews, snowball sampling was used to select appropriate interviewees.

Figure 1. The embroidery entrepreneurs of Tasikmalaya, invited to the focus group discussion in February 8, 2023. From left to right: Dedi Mulyadi, Kania Permata Sukma, Euis Sinta, Atikah, Dr. Linda Sunarti (author), Mimin, Giatry, Risa Ardita, Raisye Soleh Haghia (co-author).

As an ethical consideration, this research adheres to basic ethical principles, including consent, confidentiality, and data protection. The use of both qualitative and quantitative methods indicates that this study comprises reflective historical research in the sense that it connects the past with the reality of the present.

3. Theoretical framework and approach

This study employs Weber’s theory of social action to analyze the development and survivability of the Tasikmalaya embroidery industry, identify the relationships among relevant actors and institutions, and determine the values underlying the socioeconomic actions of the entrepreneurs. The dominant values within the local entrepreneurial community were religious and cultural moral values—in this case, Islamic and Sundanese values (Falah, 2010, p. 228).

This study may align with Weber’s initial study of economic rationality and religious ethical values, The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism (Weber, 1976), which examined how actors can prosper by engaging in hard work, living frugally, avoiding an extravagant lifestyle, and preserving their wealth. The Calvinists’ Protestant way of life attracted Weber’s attention because most of them had become auspicious businessmen, in contrast to Catholic entrepreneurs. The Calvinists’ penchant for capital accumulation supported their existence and elevated their experiences, leading to Weber’s thesis on the relationship between Protestant ethics and the development of capitalism in Western Europe.

In Islamic teachings, there are several guidelines regarding decent economic action—including fiqh muamalah, which has been remodeled into the Islamic economic (sharia) system (Amalia, 2009)—as well as guidelines regarding Islamic spiritual ethics, such as faith, devotion, sincerity, and obedience to God. These values are implemented in the form of divine, individual, and social piety to bridge the welfare of spiritual and material life. Islam teaches that economic action, as part of social action, can be taken by actors to amplify maslahat, or the general good.

The concept of maslahat refers to the importance of providing one another with benefits, blessings, and salvation in both this world and the afterlife. This importance is exemplified by the obligation of all Muslims to engage in almsgivings, such as zakat and infaq, for the sake of those who are less fortunate. This concept may be interpreted as an encouragement for Muslims to perpetually accumulate capital so that they can share their wealth with others, as stated in the Qur’an (Al-Baqarah, verse 4). In addition, trust, honesty, and justice serve as influential values that lay a robust foundation for the development of various Islamic institutions, including Islamic financial institutions, zakat institutions, and orphanages.

Regarding Sundanese cultural values, there is an interesting local proverb: “mun teu ngoprek moal nyapek, mun teu ngakal moal ngakeul, mun teu ngarah moal ngarih” (should you fail to do your job diligently, you will not have something to eat, should you not be able to think and seek sustenance, you will have no rice to cook) (Warnaen, 1987, p. 26). This proverb suggests the Sundanese people encourage one another to constantly pursue sustenance or wealth with all of their might and through every possible effort with consistency and perseverance. Other influential Sundanese cultural values include that of silih asah, silih asih, silih asuh, which encourages Sundanese people to always share their fortune and knowledge. There also exist the character traits of cageur (healthy), bageur (good), bener (right), pinter (smart), and singer (dexterous), which are actualized in local economic activity (Setiawan, 2014).

Thus, on the one hand, the values in Islamic teachings and Sundanese culture regarding economic action emphasize the notability of wealth accumulation. On the other hand, this notability requires some limitations to promote the common welfare. A similar notion is found in Weber’s study on the Calvinists’ values, which encourage followers to accumulate capital by leading a modest, individual-oriented life while engaging in rational economic practices.

The resilience of entrepreneurs in Tasikmalaya during the COVID-19 pandemic was also bolstered by their ability to adapt to the evolving marketing field for their products. Bourdieu (in Grenfell, 2008) explains the importance of compatibility between an economic actor and the field in which they are engaged. As a part of the habitus theory, Bourdieu explained that there are multiple determining factors underlying the relationship between agency and structure, including the capital owned by the economic actor and their spatial context.

An economic actor with immense capital could not break the constraints of the field’s structure if located in a disagreeable field. Conversely, an actor placed in an advantageous arena would fail to enable their agential power without sufficient capital. In the case of embroidery entrepreneurs and artisans in Tasikmalaya, most owned sufficient capital and appropriately nurtured their younger generation’s creativity and innovation in order to pass the business down in the family and form strong networks among entrepreneurs, artisans, and stakeholders. Notably, these entrepreneurs must determine the field for which their capital is suitable in order to eventually make structural changes. Those who fail in this regard will inevitably struggle to maintain the cohesion of their capital and fail to survive in the field.

4. The history and transformation of embroidery industry in Tasikmalaya

Historians estimate that the art of embroidery on clothing dates back to the 5^th to 3^rd centuries BC in Mesopotamia and Egypt, later gaining popularity in other countries, including Indonesia. Embroidery is just one of the many decorative sewing techniques that have existed since humans first recognized clothing. Every country has its own embroidery heritage, which has long served as a symbol of wealth. The history of embroidery in Tasikmalaya, which began in the 1920s, can be divided into three distinct periods.

The first was the pioneering period, which was characterized by the emergence of handicrafts and art of embroidery. This period covered the first few decades of the 20^th century and laid a strong foundation for embroidery artisans to manifest their creativity as culturally infused economic actions. The culture of the Sundanese in Tasikmalaya was driven by a blend of Islamic and local Sundanese (Priangan) values. The permeation of religious values into the culture created conditions that supported the sustainability of the local embroidery industry.

The art of embroidery as decoration on clothing for the Priangan nobility (menak) has been acknowledged since the Dutch colonial period. During this period, the nobles wore embroidered or embellished clothes to distinguish themselves from the general public (cacah/somah). Usually, the embroidery was attached to the kebaya worn by noblewomen at the time. However, noblemen also adorned similar decorations to their clothes, especially on their formal attire during traditional ceremonies or royal events. The embroidery was typically sewn using gold threads.

To briefly explain the menak in Tasikmalaya, the Sundanese living in the 19^th and early 20^th centuries recognized a stark three-level social division consisting of the menak, santana, and cacah or somah. The menak, consisting of nobles and their descendants, held the highest social status. More accurately, the term “menak” was initially used to address the regent and his family or descendants. However, government officials within the regency also effectively belonged to this class. The title given to menak was usually either “Raden” or “Juragan,” referring to the designation of the previous kings or menak luhur (Lubis, 1998). Meanwhile, the titles given to santana were “Asep,” “Ujang,” “Agus,” and “Mas” for men and “Nyimas” for women (Lubis, 1997, p. 5). Santana were menak descendants who married into the lower class. Santana held a social status between those of the menak and cacah. Finally, cacah or somah were ordinary people who were at the lowest level of indigenous society.

Between 1930 and 1942, social stratification in Tasikmalaya was also influenced by the arrival of Muslim traders and businessmen who were categorized as santana. They developed close ties with religious organizations, such as Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) and Muhammadiyah (Muzakir in Falah, 2010, p. 140). Notably, by this point, the titles given to both menak and santana no longer functioned as symbolic features, as they had transformed into a name used for anyone. Thus, by the end of the Dutch colonial period, the old feudal system had ceased to exist; it was replaced by a new system that classified elites based on their economic prowess and deftness.

As a part of the middle class, traders and businessmen tried to keep up with modern fashion and social etiquette by imitating the European lifestyle. From an economic and intellectual perspective, Tasikmalayan traders and businessmen began to pursue the establishment of an indigenous middle class to compete with Chinese merchants and entrepreneurs who were there prior to their arrival.

In tracing the development of the embroidery industry in Tasikmalaya, the emergence of embroidery entrepreneurs and artisans in Tanjung Village, Kawalu District must not be ignored. Tanjung Village was the point of genesis for the ever-thriving industry with a strong association with the daughter of a menak family, Siti Umayah. Siti Umayah gained her knowledge in the art of embroidery through her position as an upper-class indigenous woman who was able to interact with the Dutch during the early 20^th century. At first, none of the menak were interested in learning or making embroidery, including Siti Umayah, as doing laborious work to make garments was seen as undignified—as a risk to their status. However, Siti Umayah decided to try the practice and eventually developed a strong interest in it. This was later inherited to Haji Zarkasih, Umayah’s relatives, who further evolved the art of embroidery in Tasikmalaya. During this pioneering period, not everyone in Tasikmalaya society took interest in the practice, as the menak and their family members were the only ones who wore garments with embroidery.

The influence of colonial culture dominated Sundanese Priangan society during this period. The locals were in the lowest social class, below the Europeans and the Chinese above them. The menak, however, were indigenous people who held positions in the local bureaucratic system. Therefore, their positions were negotiable, as they aligned in a sense with the Europeans, putting them in the highest social class as well. What was effectively a feudal system persisted during this period, as regents, who were believed to be the descendants of kings, held the greatest traditional authority, privileges, and wealth among the locals.

The pioneering period ended when the Dutch East Indies colonial government ceased to exist in 1942. Thus, the menak, santana, and cacah/somah classes began to dissolve (Lubis, 1998). The transition from the pioneering period to the next in the context of embroidery proceeded without interruption, as the art of embroidery was still used widely on kebaya and shawls.

The second period was the period of continuity, characterized by the emergence of entrepreneurs who were continuing their family businesses—by the dominance of successors between the 1960s and 1990s. During this period, skill in embroidery was being widely re-introduced among relatives, neighbors, and surrounding communities. As the successor of Siti Umayah, Haji Zarkasih transmitted the knowledge and art of embroidery to the general public to make embroidery accessible to everyone. Thus, embroidery began to be practiced by various communities in Tasikmalaya, often depicting fairly simple patterns, such as flowers and other plants native to Tasikmalaya.

The third period was the development period, which was effectively a continuation of the second period, and it only just recently ended. The introduction of various pieces of equipment (e.g., computer-based embroidery machines) facilitated alternative ways to produce embroidery and marked the beginning of this period. Advancements in computer technology integrated with embroidery machines revolutionized sewing techniques, making the production of embroidery products faster and easier. Such technological advancements facilitated the mass production of desirable embroidery products.

This period witnessed two major events in the development of Tasikmalaya’s embroidery industry. The first was the eruption of Mount Galunggung in 1982, and the second was the 1997–1998 Asian financial crisis. Following the eruption, agricultural yields declined sharply because most arable land was covered in volcanic dust. As a result, people who had previously worked in agriculture were forced to turn to other work, including the production of handicrafts. This was exacerbated by the fact that urban expansion had already reduced the availability of fertile land. Subsequently, the financial crisis prompted people in big cities to return to their villages in search of work. The most negative impact of the crisis on the labor sector was layoffs, but their return to villages facilitated significant growth in the embroidery industry.

Embroidery in Tasikmalaya rose as a significant response to the social and economic problems faced by the community. The industry became a solution for the community’s predicament and came to foster resilience. Tasikmalayan embroidery, which had previously entailed mere decorations on the regalia of the nobility, came to be produced for trivial, everyday supplies, including casual wear, nightgowns, prayer gowns for women (mukena), tablecloths, bed sheets, coasters, cup lids, and wallets. The favorable quality of the embroidery products enabled entrepreneurs to initiate exports.

Kawalu District also grew into a hotspot for embroidery crafts, known as the Kawalu Embroidery Center (Sentra Bordir Kawalu). The area became a destination for buyers looking to pick up products to be distributed to a wider market. Kawalu became the home of Haji and Hajjah-two terms used as religious titles for Indonesian Muslims who had made their pilgrimage to Mecca—who were the leading entrepreneurs in the Tasikmalaya embroidery industry. They developed home-based businesses, meaning that workers, both artisans and sales representatives, were typically relatives, neighbors, or acquaintances whose domiciles were close to the entrepreneurs’ production houses or galleries.

5. Surviving the pandemic: Strategies to withstand Covid-19

Early conversations about the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus began in late 2019. By early 2020, a state of global pandemic had been issued, leading to concerns about humanity’s strategy to cope. What started out as a global health issue quickly became a major economic problem for all countries. Entrepreneurs perceived this economic problem as an effectively uncontrollable external factor. MSMEs in Indonesia were greatly affected by the pandemic; some of them opted to simply call off their businesses or at least reduce their number of employees. As a result, there was a drastic increase in turnover.

The inability of a number of MSMEs to deal with the pandemic largely stemmed from the impacts of government policies limiting public mobilization and interaction to reduce the rate of viral transmission. Thus, this crisis, triggered by pandemic-era restrictions, was distinct from previous economic crises. In 1998, MSMEs became critical to societal resilience toward the crisis due to their ability to create simple working opportunities. However, this was not the case during the COVID-19 pandemic due to limits on production time and marketing space. This dynamic resulted in a drastic decline in MSMEs’ revenues, and this decline was exacerbated by instability in purchasing power parity stemming from a reduction in consumer spending. In Tasikmalaya, the pandemic led to goods piling up in warehouses, disrupting cash flows and stalling production lines.

Tasikmalaya was declared one of the country’s many pandemic “red zones,” housing an alarming number of COVID-19 cases. The activity-restriction policy put pressure on production houses by halting all activity for weeks, leading most entrepreneurs to bankruptcy. Warehouses gradually emptied out with no stock of goods, as many received orders were left ignored. Production was forced into small-scale circumstances, prompting entrepreneurs to let artisans bring manual machinery (kejek and juki) home to facilitate remote production.

Profits earned by the entrepreneurs in Kawalu Embroidery Center decreased dramatically, but most of them considered this crisis to be an unavoidable force of nature, as stated by Haji Dedi Mulyadi, an entrepreneur who gave up on his embroidery business during the pandemic due to the sharp decline in sales. Before the pandemic, his production line could produce six to eight designs on at least 1,000 items each per month. With swift product turnover, his warehouse was often empty due to the steady balance of supply and demand. Every month featured different designs, matching market trends. When restrictions were implemented, his production line could only produce one design and far fewer items. The disrupted purchasing power parity stalled the business, leaving it in a state of limbo. Additionally, it can’t be ignored that many entrepreneurs lost artisans and employees as a result of illness or death during the pandemic.

Nonetheless, a small number of entrepreneurs managed to survive the crisis, with some even expanding their businesses. This is a key element of this study’s findings, with the research concluding that there were at least two categories of Tasikmalayan embroidery entrepreneurs: the squandered distributor and the agile entrepreneur.

The first category refers to those who produce and distribute embroidery products to the market through various shopping centers. The aim of their business was to channel as many products as possible to the market. These entrepreneurs are distinct, as their motivations were purely rooted in financial accumulation. The second category refers to entrepreneurs who conducted the holistic activity of embroidery production—from the creative design process to production and distribution—in return for value beyond the economic yield from sales. Thus, these entrepreneurs viewed embroidery as more than a commercial commodity; they saw it as an art with inherent value.

The entrepreneurs in these two categories exhibited different means of adaptation and resilience. Threatened by the circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic, the squandered distributors prioritized solutions aimed at sustaining their financial accumulation, while the agile entrepreneurs dared to turn obstacles into innovations.

6. The squandering distributors

In the 1980s, multiple garment factories emerged in Tasikmalaya, most of them able to produce several different products in bulk. The embroidery industry, long reliant on manually operated sewing machines, was pushed to transform via adaptation to electric sewing and embroidery machines. Since then, the industry has developed into more of a mass-production industry. As a result, many entrepreneurs have begun to act as distributors of these mass-produced products.

As a distributor of such products, Haji Dedi Mulyadi shared his experience. Mass production encouraged many people in Kawalu District to enter the embroidery business, particularly distributors to big city markets. Mass production began when a number of computer-based embroidery machines from China arrived, replacing kejek (conventional sewing machines with kinetic pedals) and juki (electric sewing machines with motors). Dedi also mentioned that these new machines could produce a large quantity of high-quality embroidery within just a few hours (Interview with D. Mulyadi & E. Sinta, 2023).

Entrepreneurs who still employed artisans operating manual sewing machines began to be affected. Embroidery machines, which cost both distributors and entrepreneurs hundreds of million Rupiahs, were rapidly arriving from China, though they were notably just perfect copies of machines manufactured in Japan that cost more than a billion.

Dedi’s embroidery business, which he started with his wife, Hajjah Euis Sinta, began in 1992 after the two got married. The drive to start their embroidery business came from Euis’s parents, who were home-based embroidery entrepreneurs. The couple opted to continue the family business, though they preferred to act more as distributors. They began to function as resellers for manually embroidered products, such as headscarves and prayer gowns. There was little competition when they started, so they were able to carve out a solid space in the market, especially given the rising popularity of embroidery products.

The difference between manual and computer machines lies in the presence of human labor. Manual machines are small pieces of equipment that a single artisan can use to produce one product. That artisan works on a product by following the design set into a piece of fabric by the business owner (the entrepreneurs usually draw their own designs). Computer machines are large machines that require one operator to supervise the work of nine to twelve sewing heads, meaning that one machine can produce nine to twelve products at once.

Dedi was self-taught when it came to his business, as both he and his wife lacked marketing skills. Their business covered major markets in Jakarta, but their lack of marketing expertise meant that they were often controlled by ever-changing trends. Their strict adherence to market trends hindered their creativity. Ultimately, their embroidery business dedicated its production to meet the demand for mass-produced embroidery products, adopting the “ATM” pattern, which stands for “Amati (observe), Tiru (imitate), and Modifikasi (modify).” According to Dedi (Interview with D. Mulyadi & E. Sinta, 2023):

We […] are the ATM. Amati (observe), Tiru (imitate), and Modifikasi (modify). [We] cannot survive. [the crisis]

There were no business associations that could serve as knowledge- or information-sharing forums. Every distributor operated independently without any cooperation or mutual relations. Speculation was the predominant approach rather than a well-planned and professional business strategy. The culmination point of this action was the inability to introduce any innovation, while the quality of the mass-produced products was inferior to that of imported embroidery products with simpler patterns or colors.

As the situation grew more difficult, Dedi and Euis decided to switch to producing sharia robes (gamis) for women around 1997–1998. This change pushed them out of mass embroidery production and distribution but led them to another financial success. The profits they gained from selling gamis enabled them to buy a fleet of trucks with which to deliver goods to various markets. The joy lasted until the early 2000s, when they came face to face with an influx of imported Chinese garments. Dedi and Euis’s gamis business continued to decline until 2004, when they were no longer able to draw significant profits (Interview with D. Mulyadi & E. Sinta, 2023).

According to Dedi, the absence of a business association or community to support one another was the primary weakness of the squandering distributors. Their tendency to engage in business independently meant that they were largely disconnected. This constituted a problem, as mass production could make the selling price freefall without controls in place to set production quotas. Dedi highlighted this problem in the context of luxurious goods: A high-value item should only be produced in small quantities and distributed exclusively to maintain its selling price. Increasing production quantity only serves to make them less valuable, eventually leading to oversaturation and prompting the public to move on toward new trends.

Dedi now views the embroidery industry, in terms of the distributor entrepreneurs, as a distant memory. In fact, many distributors did not survive the crisis—including him and his wife. Only a few persisted by continuing the manual embroidery business, whose products boasted personal value often sought by embroidery enthusiasts and connoisseurs. However, if the market were to once again demand mass-produced products, manual embroidery products would forever be outpaced by computerized mass production.

Manual production obviously requires longer time and draining labor. For every one product completed through manual production, approximately twelve would be produced through computerized production with a fairly similar level of quality—and the computerized production could even lead to more consistently neat outcomes. Still, manual embroidery production became a niche market. Relevant consumers were generally limited to those who could afford handmade crafts, such as collectors, government officials, and people in the middle to upper classes. Dedi defined the added value of manual products as the personal touch of an artisan.

Dedi further explained that manual and computerized products featured no significant differences. For Dedi, embroidery is an art that may be produced by either method; it is a three-dimensional image created by threads that consists of three distinct stages: sketching the design on a piece of parchment paper, reproducing the design on top of the fabric, and sewing the thread along the design to create visible beauty as decorations.

The manual embroidery business reached the national market again in the 2010s, when Tasikmalaya’s signature pattern, the kerancang, became popular again. The sophisticated and unstructured design of the kerancang could only be made with a distinct technique that a computer-based machine could not replicate. Around the same time, a new market began to develop: e-commerce. This market facilitated the transaction of countless goods over the Internet. The embroidery business began to regain some momentum alongside the comeback of two embroidery thread factories in Kawalu, Warna Agung and Mekar Mas.

However, the squandering distributors were still struggling to cope with imported goods, as the rising price of raw materials did not align with the surge in imported second-hand clothing, alongside which thrifting had become the latest phenomenon among lower-middle-class Indonesians (Interview with K. P. Sukma, 2023).

7. The agile entrepreneurs

7.1. The power of networking

Hajjah Atikah is a third-generation embroidery entrepreneur in her family. She has maintained her parents’ business since she was 20 years old, as she demonstrated a keen interest in design and business since she was in junior high school. Atikah began to engage in entrepreneurship by attending training sessions on imports and exports for distribution purposes. Despite being the youngest in her family, she was the only child of her parents who want to continue the family business—and she did so by innovating and developing new connections (Interview with Atikah, 2023).

Hence, Atikah’s business developed into a high-end producer of Tasikmalaya embroidery with international reach. Atikah ran the entirety of Dewi Bordir with just a little help from her daughter, Dewi, whom Atikah was preparing to be her successor at the time of the interview. One of Atikah’s business strategies was to send Dewi to the Bandung School of Textile Technology (Sekolah Tinggi Teknologi Tekstil; STTT). However, since Dewi often joined her husband in his military service outside Tasikmalaya, the business proceeded in part through e-commerce. In general, Dewi Bordir continued growing thanks to Atikah’s extensive networks and connections with government institutions and state-owned enterprises.

Since she first entered the embroidery business, Atikah had identified her target market. She started by attending training sessions in Kawalu around 1992. In the training sessions, the participating embroidery entrepreneurs were asked to identify their preferred market segment. Atikah selected the upper-middle class because the artisans and entrepreneurs in Kawalu had already largely taken the lower-middle-class segment. She also joined an association of young entrepreneurs, exported her products, participated in various foreign exhibitions, including those in Dubai, Singapore, and Brunei, and joined the largest handicraft exhibition in Southeast Asia, which has been organized by the International Handicraft Trade Fair (INACRAFT) and initiated by the Indonesian Handicraft Exporters and Manufacturers Association in collaboration with Mediatama Binakreasi since April 1999.

Dewi Bordir’s products targeted upper-middle-class consumers, in contrast to the target of the mass-produced embroidery business run by Dedi and Euis covered earlier in this study. However, the top-tier products produced by Dewi Bordir did not sell well in markets where computer-based embroidery was popular due to its low price. Atikah tried to sell her products in Tanah Abang Market in Jakarta but was unsuccessful. She gained next to nothing, while others with cheaper options earned tens of million Rupiahs in profits. She only managed to earn 1.5 million from selling two koko shirts (long-sleeved shirts with upright collars) with her relatives assisting.

There were 45 employees working as part of Dewi Bordir prior to the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. During the pandemic, this number declined, with several employees even becoming ill and passing away. Atikah restored its production line, with some employees asked to temporarily run the production process from home. Atikah put her trust in her employees, as they were all local residents and neighbors who lived near her gallery. Atikah paid her employees’ salary on a wholesale basis.

Through Atikah’s network, Dewi Bordir’s premium products were marketed to government officials, such as the chief of the Indonesian National Police and state-owned enterprise executives (Garuda Indonesia, Pertamina, Semen Kujang), among others. Notably, these organizations and institutions contributed a lot to marketing Dewi Bordir at the national and international levels.

Atikah designed and drew all the produced patterns herself. Inspiration for the designs came from observing the development of daily trends in society and attending exhibitions and fashion shows in various countries. Dewi Bordir’s products included koko shirts, prayer gowns, Tasikmalaya’s signature agnessa batik, souvenir packages, kebaya, and wedding dresses. She gained her network through various activities, including business-matching programs and government training sessions, such as the recent one that she attended in January 2023: Entrepreneur Power 2023.

Aside from attending training sessions, Atikah also shared her knowledge with fellow embroidery artisans and entrepreneurs through a series of training sessions that she held between 2007 and 2012. By organizing this training program, Atikah and Dewi Bordir became increasingly popular and expanded their network. For example, she held an exhibition with IKEA Bandung, joined the export community, and joined the Advanced Indonesian Women Entrepreneurs (PPIM) program initiated by Iriana Joko Widodo and chaired by Inggrid Kansil. She also collaborated with entrepreneurs in other Indonesian handicraft sectors, such as preserved sea shells.

One of Atikah’s biggest achievements was receiving an order for products produced manually with the juki machine from a client in Uzbekistan. However, soon after that, Atikah’s business was met with its first setback. After receiving this large export order, Atikah suffered a herniated disc in her spine. The long recovery process prevented Atikah from attending to product design, although her employees managed to keep the production line running.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Atikah did not experience any significant difficulties. She mentioned that the pandemic encouraged many entrepreneurs to innovate by, for example, making products related to the pandemic, such as masks, mask wallets, and sleeves for hand sanitizer. However, according to Atikah, Dewi Bordir did not focus on producing such items, as they were still receiving many orders for bereavement souvenirs from officials at the local and national levels (Interview with Atikah, 2023):

[We] are not too affected [by the pandemic] because both production and innovation continue […] Production [of goods] for Bhayangkari [the organization for the wives of Indonesian police], orders from government officials […] as souvenirs, given to the mourning family and relatives.

Being a part of the exporter community, Atikah realized that Tasikmalayan embroidery would forever be a unique art that could not be replicated by those beyond the borders of Tasikmalaya. She also mentioned that embroidery is an exclusive art practiced with subtlety, not with modern machinery and computers.

7.2. The thriving innovations

Hajjah Mimin belonged to the first generation in her family to run an embroidery business. Mimin then passed down her embroidery business to her daughter, Hajjah Giatry, and her daughter-in-law, Hajjah Risa Ardita. Unlike Atikah, Mimin’s market segment through Min’s Bordir consisted of middle- and lower-class consumers.

She employed between 20 and 30 artisans and packers, paying them based on their productivity. Mimin employed the same recruitment method as Atikah: inviting her closest neighbors whom she considered to be part of her family. Thus, the production of handicrafts, including bags, wallets, clothes, coasters, and tissue holders, took place in the homes of the workers, which were located around the Min’s Bordir gallery in Kawalu.

Mimin’s business began with an interest in the design and process of making embroidery. She decided to enter the embroidery business because it would enable her to openly pour her creativity into the designs and patterns of her products. She is the pioneer of the embroidery business in her family, leading her to establish her own gallery to function as both a seller and a supplier for other entrepreneurs/distributors who wished to become resellers (Interview with Mimin, 2023).

At the time of this study’s publication, Mimin and Min’s Bordir were still active. She mentioned that the survival of her embroidery business was inseparable from the roles of the younger generations in her family who were very eager to continue the business and innovate to develop it further. Giatry previously played a role in marketing Min’s Bordir products to various marketplaces and social media platforms, including Facebook. By the time of this study, Giatry had her own production house and gallery, Giatry Bordir Tasik, whose products were marketed through various e-commerce platforms. Moreover, Risa, had developed a computer-based embroidery business that supplied products to Malaysia. Giatry produced various products, ranging from manually produced clothes, bags, and wallets to technologically produced nightdresses. Meanwhile, Risa focused on producing simple embroidery patterns on fabrics to be sewn into Malay-style baju kurung (Interview with Hajjah, 2023). Therefore, it is reasonable to conclude that Mimin and her two daughters were fully aware of the need for innovation in advance of the COVID-19 pandemic, as their embroidery businesses were no longer limited to the production of prayer gowns or koko shirts. Min’s Bordir products were so versatile that they could fulfill various needs on the part of its customers.

When the COVID-19 pandemic broke out, many embroidery entrepreneurs shifted to e-commerce. Thus, the key to resilience for Tasikmalayan embroidery entrepreneurs without means for stability during the pandemic (e.g., capital, networks) to be drawn from Mimin’s experience may be twofold: regeneration and innovation. These were the two most realistic means of adaptation, especially in terms of marketing.

Giatry and Risa were key to the sustainability of Min’s Bordir, although both of Mimin’s successors also ran their own brands and production lines. Giatry found an opening to market her products through e-commerce platforms when she first started selling Min’s Bordir products on Facebook in 2009. In 2014, she expanded her marketing network to Instagram, and more recently to Shopee, Tokopedia, Lazada, and TikTok. The target market was a rather mixed one, but she managed to accommodate the needs of both younger and older consumers. According to Giatry, people’s motivations to purchase embroidery are predominantly determined by the designs, so artisans must constantly modernize their insights while maintaining originality. Thus, what was important for Giatry was their forecasting strategy, which she found noticeably lacking when it came to distribution(Interview with Giatry, 2023).

Another business strategy that Mimin implemented was an almost altruistic business pattern through her social actions as an entrepreneur. She fostered a familial relationship with the artisans working on her production lines, trusting them as part of her family. For example, Mimin would distribute customers’ orders to the artisans so that they could experience managing orders and productions, enabling them to be future entrepreneurs. This action was based on her belief that Allah had arranged ample sustenance for every business, meaning that it was her job to further distribute sustenance to those in need. As Mimin elaborated (Interview with Mimin, 2023):

They [the workers/craftsmen] are mostly my own neighbors. [I am] not afraid of being overtaken by the workers because I want to familiarize them with business production and management.

Another entrepreneur was Haji Wawan Setiawan Nawawi, who (like Atikah) exported his embroidery products to a segmented market. He also exhibited strong religious beliefs (like Mimin), mentioning how God had blessed humanity with creativity that could be utilized infinitely, so even modern machines with careful calculations could not rival or replace human beings. The last obstacle for manual embroidery businesses was the skill of artisans, which could not be achieved in a short time. Only some individuals with copious experience could be recognized as competent artisans who could reliably wield the right technique. The survival of manual embroidery relied on the huge profit margins, with products branded as limited or exclusive pieces of art.

8. What comes next for the entrepreneurs?

The survivability of the Tasikmalayan embroidery industry in crises has been shown to be highly influenced by the religious and cultural values deeply embedded in the community. The entrepreneurship of the Islamic Sundanese community was clearly reflected in their behaviors, including fostering good relations with one another and remaining open to artisans and workers. The local entrepreneurs always tried to engage in ethical business, maintaining mutual trust, honesty, and fairness. None of them engaged in open competition, as they were gripped by belief in the value of silih asih, silih asah, silih asuh, which required them to always nurture one another.

The Islamic and Sundanese values embedded in the economic actions of the entrepreneurs may be elaborated through the differences between those who survived and those who experienced bankruptcy. The entrepreneurs who survived had the following characteristics:

1. Carrying out business on the basis of religion and culture by perceiving business as an integral part of religious and cultural conduct.

2. Treating employees as partners, who shared mutual needs and benefits. Both employer and employees hold equal position with no patron-client concept.

3. Distributing profits to fulfill social and religious obligations instead of exclusively using them for self-enrichment.

There was a widespread recognition that, in the wealth of every Muslim, there are some rights belonging to others. This recognition encouraged entrepreneurs to spare their profits to fulfill their religious obligations through zakat, infaq, and sadaqah. This recognition went hand in hand with the concept of silih asih, silih asah, silih asuh embedded in their economic actions. Strong empathy grew within the entrepreneurs; they no longer ran a business exclusively for profit but for how their success could benefit the wider community.

The entrepreneurs belonged to the elite or the new middle social class (menak baru) in the social structure of Tasikmalaya. Notably, only a few came from the cacah, one such entrepreneur being Mimin. Social mobilization could occur if entrepreneurs succeeded in accumulating capital and finding the right field for themselves. A pool of capital, as described by Bourdieu in the habitus theory, could be in the form of knowledge capacity, property, family lineage, or connections.

The characteristics of menak baru could be seen in their lifestyle, including the education of family members, recreation preferences, life ceremonies, and ownership of property, such as large and palace-like houses (many entrepreneurs owned more than one house), modern luxury cars (the average entrepreneur owned between three and six private cars), large rice fields and land, and businesses in other fields. The education of entrepreneurs’ children was typically higher than that of their parents. Entrepreneurs also tended to choose high-quality schools with an Islamic character.

The combination of accumulating and involving themselves in the right field produced entrepreneurs with a high degree of resilience. In fact, this combination has been the basis for the sustainability of the embroidery industry, as it has enabled entrepreneurs to pass on their businesses to the next generation. The inability of entrepreneurs to realize this combination could lead to a lesser degree of resilience and limited opportunities to expand the scope of their businesses. Entrepreneurs who survived the pandemic created a rational plan of action and possessed adaptable capital, such as space, forecasting abilities, business networks, and innovation spearheaded by the younger generation. Such capital created two separate fields (i.e., marketing scopes) for the entrepreneurs.

The first field was business management based on the use of technology and information, namely e-commerce. The emergence of e-commerce was one of the biggest disruptions in the world of commerce, quickly integrating into society alongside online transactions. The need to engage with e-commerce was increasingly urgent at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced people to avoid direct interpersonal interaction. Many e-commerce platforms expanded rapidly at the start of the pandemic, including Shopee, Tokopedia, Blibli, and Lazada. Entrepreneurs like Mimin and her two successors, Giatry and Risa, chose to enter this field as the most feasible means of adapting the embroidery business that she had started at a young age. As the first generation to become an embroidery entrepreneur in her family, Mimin had enough capital to pioneer her embroidery business, and she allowed her two successors to innovate further.

The second field was business management based on the use of networks, which, if properly utilized, could enable entrepreneurs to achieve the means of survival. However, this field was not made to be entered by every entrepreneur, as such networks cannot be formed in a short period of time. Only networks with strong and constant nurturing can survive. Entrepreneurs like Atikah with Dewi Bordir successfully utilized this field by exploring institutional relationships with various government and state institutions, such as ministries, security forces, and state-owned enterprises. Atikah’s networks began when she first entered the embroidery business, participating in training sessions, activities, and exhibitions that made her and her business’s name known to various notable parties. In fact, her connections with the upper-middle class (in this case, officials and prominent people in the government) shaped Dewi Bordir’s specialty in producing high-value manual embroidery products. During the pandemic, she was able to maintain her business due to ongoing demand from her specialized customers. In other words, her network provided her with repeat customers, providing her with a valuable degree of consistency instead of forcing dependency on an unstable market.

9. Conclusion

The resilience of Tasikmalayan embroidery entrepreneurs stemmed from their high adaptability to challenges, which was inseparable from the close relationship between Islamic religious values and local Sundanese culture in almost all aspects of community life. Based on the experiences of these entrepreneurs—who were able to withstand a series of economic crises, including the 1997–1998 Asian financial crisis, the 2008 economic crisis, and the COVID-19 pandemic—the key to survival was to hold strong cultural and religious values while perfecting capital accumulation and the field in their habitus as entrepreneurs. Ultimately, they considered profit to be a blessing and viewed loss as nothing more than a test that strengthened the two aspects inhibiting their social actions. Religious values and traditions instilled in them the belief that everyone had been given sufficient sustenance by God, so competitions between fellow entrepreneurs or artisans did not trigger harmful rivalries. They engaged in healthy competition, but open conflict and destructive competition were not found among the entrepreneurs who survived the crisis.

Some of their values aligned well with the needs of the COVID-19 pandemic, including being honest, keeping promises, and respecting others. Trust between entrepreneurs and artisans is summarized in the Sundanese phrase “ulah ngamomore kepercayaan, sabab kepercayaan the kahormatan diri,” which emphasizes trust between people as something that should not be underestimated, as trust is a reflection of self-respect. This value lies at the core of the local communities in adaptive, especially among the younger generations acting as successors. Entrepreneurs and artisans also viewed their customers as royalty who deserved their utmost respect.

As for the future, it is important for embroidery entrepreneurs to maintain a balance between innovation, regeneration, and network growth to prepare themselves to withstand future crises. Still, the government must engage in ongoing work to maintain entrepreneurship and promote the growth of local businesses across Indonesia. The government could start by providing capital within the framework of matching funds or easing the terms of capital loans as well as improving the quality of human capital through segmented labor training and support for inter-entrepreneur associations.

Declaration of conflicting interests

The authors declared no potential conflict of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to gratefully acknowledge the great contribution from researchers and lecturer from Universitas Indonesia, as well as the entrepreneurs of Tasikmalaya’s embroidery in Kawalu District, Tasikmalaya, West Java, Indonesia through a warm dialogue, excursions, focus group discussions, and interviews.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work is supported by the International Indexed Publication Research Grant provided by the Directorate of Research and Community Engagement, Universitas Indonesia, year of 2022, managed by Dr. Linda Sunarti as the Research Team Leader, based on the research titled: “Resiliensi Nilai Budaya Lokal dan Kewirausahaan Komunitas Perajin Bordir Kabupaten Tasikmalaya dalam Masa Pandemi Covid-19” (Contract Number: NKB-1388/UN2.RST/HKP.05.00/2022).

Notes on contributors

Linda Sunarti

Linda Sunarti, Hanafi Hussin, Noor Fatia Lastika Sari, and Raisye Soleh Haghia are parts of a research team led by Linda Sunarti, which studied the cultural change and adaptation within Southeast Asians. In this research, the researchers wishes to observe the resiliency of the local community with their local wisdom-based resolution to cope with the prominent change in humanity, after Covid-19. Linda is a Senior Lecturer at the Department of History, Faculty of Humanities, Universitas Indonesia, while Noor and Raisye are lecturers in the same department. Hanafi is a professor at the University of Malaya.

Hanafi Hussin

Linda Sunarti, Hanafi Hussin, Noor Fatia Lastika Sari, and Raisye Soleh Haghia are parts of a research team led by Linda Sunarti, which studied the cultural change and adaptation within Southeast Asians. In this research, the researchers wishes to observe the resiliency of the local community with their local wisdom-based resolution to cope with the prominent change in humanity, after Covid-19. Linda is a Senior Lecturer at the Department of History, Faculty of Humanities, Universitas Indonesia, while Noor and Raisye are lecturers in the same department. Hanafi is a professor at the University of Malaya.

Noor Fatia Lastika Sari

Linda Sunarti, Hanafi Hussin, Noor Fatia Lastika Sari, and Raisye Soleh Haghia are parts of a research team led by Linda Sunarti, which studied the cultural change and adaptation within Southeast Asians. In this research, the researchers wishes to observe the resiliency of the local community with their local wisdom-based resolution to cope with the prominent change in humanity, after Covid-19. Linda is a Senior Lecturer at the Department of History, Faculty of Humanities, Universitas Indonesia, while Noor and Raisye are lecturers in the same department. Hanafi is a professor at the University of Malaya.

Raisye Soleh Haghia

Linda Sunarti, Hanafi Hussin, Noor Fatia Lastika Sari, and Raisye Soleh Haghia are parts of a research team led by Linda Sunarti, which studied the cultural change and adaptation within Southeast Asians. In this research, the researchers wishes to observe the resiliency of the local community with their local wisdom-based resolution to cope with the prominent change in humanity, after Covid-19. Linda is a Senior Lecturer at the Department of History, Faculty of Humanities, Universitas Indonesia, while Noor and Raisye are lecturers in the same department. Hanafi is a professor at the University of Malaya.