Yogyakarta Empowers 100 Disabled Artisans via Inclusive Batik Program

RRI.CO.ID, Yogyakarta - The Yogyakarta Provincial Administration is stepping up efforts to foster economic independence for persons with disabilities by strengthening the local crafts industry. This initiative is being realized through a batik training program involving 100 artisans with disabilities, serving as an initial foundation for building an inclusive economic ecosystem and opening wider market access for their work.

“This event also reaffirms the belief that every human being has the capacity to grow, become empowered, and produce work of value,” said Yogyakarta Deputy Governor, KGPAA Paku Alam X, in his address at the Batik Together with 100 Persons with Disabilities event in Yogyakarta on Wednesday, September 16, 2026.

According to him, batik teaches that every dot and line drawn requires perseverance, precision, courage in shaping patterns and not haste. He said these values align with the spirit underpinning the joint batik-making activity, as part of efforts to open space and broaden opportunities for persons with disabilities to continue creating.

“In that sense, this Batik Together with 100 Persons with Disabilities activity is an endeavor to open space, expand opportunities, and affirm that every person has the ability to grow and produce work of value,” he said, as quoted by Antara.

He noted that one of today’s challenges is ensuring that existing cultural wealth can create spaces for equal and inclusive participation. He added that such inclusivity must be realized by giving every individual the chance to create, develop, and receive due recognition for the work they produce.

“From this, the aspiration to make Yogyakarta one of Indonesia’s hubs for disability-inclusive batik gains its meaning: an ecosystem where culture, creativity, social empowerment, and economic independence mutually reinforce one another,” he said.

The Yogyakarta Provincial Administration hopes this activity will serve as a momentum for the emergence of a distinct Yogyakarta disability-inclusive batik identity with its own uniqueness, character, and cultural value. At the same time, this initiative is expected to encourage the birth of new talents in batik-making.

Head of the Yogyakarta Provincial Social Agency, Suyarno, conveyed that the disability-inclusive batik event titled Realizing Independent and Productive Persons with Disabilities, Toward Yogyakarta Province as a Hub for Disability-Inclusive Batik aligns with the provincial administration’s commitment to inclusive development.

The program brought together 100 participants from across Yogyakarta Province’s five regencies and cities, including Bantul, Yogyakarta City, Sleman, Kulon Progo, and Gunungkidul. These participants represented diverse disability profiles, including physical, intellectual, hearing and speech, cerebral palsy, mental health, low vision, and autism. ***