Babat Toman is an area in the Musi Banyuasin Regency of South Sumatra, where the gambir plant (Uncaria gambir Roxb) grows fertile and empowered its society. The community in Babat toman since centuries ago has cultivated plants that cannot be separated from the culture of initiating and slicing this.
Gambir itself is a plant called specific location because it grows and produces high in certain areas, including Toman Village, Babat Toman District. The village is one of the locations where gambir plants can grow and produce sap compared to other locations in South Sumatra area.
The village’s land conon has a great influence in the fertile and the richness of this half-crowing plant sap. Toman’s farmers generally plant gambir monoculture and polyculture. However, most gambir plants are used as a plant as rubber.
Farmer cuts the selected gambir tree bar for use as natural coloring in the gambir garden.
The work of grinding gambir plants in Gambir Production House.
This is due to the rubber plant is a plant that drops down to the main source of farmers’ income since it first until now. Although farmers in the village of Toman are already used to cultivate gambir and rubber plants, but productivity from the plant is classified yet maximum.
In addition also plants that become the processing of the Toman Village community hereby have benefits as cosmetics, medicines, even natural dyes for fabrics. For the last five years, natural coloring for fabric from gambir has been developed in Musi Banyuasin Regency (Muba) became a high-value fabric sheet called Gambo Muba.
Gambo Muba is a fabric product with its colored jumping technique using gambir rubber waste. Gambo Muba was created starting from five youths: Kia Parkia Sentosa, Andi Anwar, Lendra Prima, Eko Azis Santoso and Husni Thamrin from the local national diutus local government to learn to develop natural dyes from his expert Hendri Suprapto who is a batik natural color consultant from Yogyakarta.
The work breaks the stewed gambir with traditional peas tools to get the liquid and its rubber.
The work of taking gambir water that has been salted for filtering and getting liquid and its rubber.
Hendri emphasizes the original plant basically has properties as dye when mixed with other compounds that are different properties. From there to polluted gambir plants into potential plants as natural dyes.
Once through various "trial and error", finally found a number of formulations in gambir coloring. The resulting color of the remaining waste of this gambir rubber turned out to be able to produce brown, black, yellow, very charming and natural greenish.
Viscose and Silk fabrics are known as fabrics that are able to bind beautiful colors with very maximum and exotic. A distinctive and natural color makes a dipped jumping with a gambir liquid to be beautiful and very distinctive.
One of the youths of Andi Anwar showed the natural dye celupan water of the gambir waste as dye celuption in the glass container (left to the right) : without a mixture, colored greenish, reddish colored, blackened in the muba Gambo education.
The craft binding jumping fabric to make Gambo Muba fabric.
The gambir dye material is also proven to absorb up to the base of the fabric so that the color of the fabric is durable and not luntur even does not contain chemicals. For this Gambo Muba is referred to as a eco fashion product and answers the elegance of the textile industry from the chemical waste problems of dyes.
The gambir colored fabric welcome with this jumping technique is very good at various kriya exhibits. Muba Regency government through related offices and TP PKK also gives full attention to Gambo Muba products. To develop production, this new government of Muba Regency develops Gambo Muba production centra in Lawang Wetan District Village.
A total of 108 seating craftsmen are empowered in the village. While for coloring is carried out in a number of dipping locations in the Toman Village and Sekayu City.
The work of sunbathing Gambo Muba fabric after first dyeing.
The work of conducting the process of dyeing the Muba Gambo fabric.
This village as a production district is aimed at responding to the high demand of Gambo Muba. In the pandemi, the production of gambo Muba jumping fabric mask is also quite high.
Muba calibration also encourages marketing of this product by hanging furniture company Savana Furniture. Over the past few years the quality of products and marketing is improved.
The impact, this gorgeous fabric contributes a high contribution to gambir farmers in this district, supporting the economy of the villagers of Toman and Ulak Teberau while raising local wisdom in a piece of fabric called Gambo Muba.
The craft extends the Muba Gambo fabric that has opened its bond.
The number of propagawati wearing foam made by Gambo Muba jumping fabric at Palembang Fashion Festival degree.
Photo and Text: Feny Selly
The work shows the brand tag of Gambo Muba fabric which is displayed in Kriya Sumsel to offer on tourists and regional guests.
Visitor wearing mask made by Gambo Muba jumping fabric.
Editor: Widodo
