The Ministry of Industry continues to encourage the improvement of domestic industry capabilities so that they can be more globally competitive. The sectors that are also encouraged are small and medium industries (IKM) because the number of business units that dominate in the country will play a major role in boosting national economic growth. One of the strategic steps that have been carried out by the Ministry of Industry in improving the capability of the IKM sector is through consulting activities and technical guidance. This activity is carried out through the Industrial Technology Improvement Partnership Fund (DAPATI).

"So far, the DAPATI technology consultancy program has been able to improve the quality and quantity of domestic industrial products, including those from the IKM sector," said the Head of the Standardization and Industrial Services Policy Agency (BSKJI) of the Ministry of Industry, Doddy Rahadi.

The head of BSKJI explained that optimizing technology as well as process and product engineering is considered to be able to increase the use of natural resource raw materials or upstream industrial products to become the main supporters of domestic manufacturing industry products.

"This is in line with the policy of optimizing the level of domestic content (TKDN) and import substitution," he said.

One of the work units under the Ministry of Industry's BSKJI, Balai Besar Tekstil (BBT), in 2021 has carried out DAPATI consultation twice to increase productivity and improve product quality, namely to the Tunas Mekar Batu Bura Group, Tanjung Isuy Village, Jempang District, West Kutai Regency, East Kalimantan and PT. Indonesian Creative Cofo, North Beo District, Talaud Islands Regency, North Sulawesi.

 "The two products of the East Kalimantan Ulap Doyo woven fabric and the Sangihe-Talaud Koffo woven fabric are original cultural heritages that are still maintained by the local community," said Doddy. According to him, natural fiber has the potential to be used as an alternative textile raw material.

"In the campaign of the Proudly Made in Indonesia National Movement (Gernas BBI) and the import substitution target of 35% by 2022, it requires acceleration in efforts to develop the natural fiber industry that prioritizes the ability to meet the needs of raw materials (production capacity) and adequate quality," he explained.

This development requires pentahelix collaboration, namely the collaboration of five stakeholders, which include the government, academia, business, community and media.

However, the problems experienced by the natural fiber-based textile craft industry are the low quality of colors and fabrics that are not comfortable to use for clothing because they tend to be stiff and the spinning technique is done manually so that the production capacity is low.

"With better fiber quality, it will increase the added value of the product and can be applied to more final products," he added.

In addition, the DAPATI team provides consultation on the technology optimization process through improving the performance of natural fiber processing machines owned by SMEs and provides technical guidance on how to maintain and maintain machines that are easy to do independently, thereby reducing dependence on machine technicians from big cities.

According to the coach of the Tunas Mekar Batu Bura Group represented by Myra Widiono, the problem for the textile craft industry is the length of the process at each stage of fiber processing, from fiber softening to color dyeing, which must be repeated several times.

"With this biodegumming method, we only need to do one process and we are able to get a fine fiber result as well as more perfect color absorption," he explained.

In another location, representatives of PT. Cofo Kreatif Indonesia, Sam Pantouw said that the obstacle faced was the result of the woven fabric which was still rough and not comfortable to use.

“With the technical guidance from BBT, it is hoped that the final fabric product will be smoother and more comfortable to use, and be able to increase production capacity. This will open up export potential for Koffo woven fabrics," he said