Liukang Loe Island is situated at the edge of South Sulawesi, which is 5 hours away from Makassar followed by a 30-minute boat ride from Tanjung Bira. Due to its culture and nature, this island is one of the region’s travel destinations.

Program's Purpose

In 2020, the team consisting of Dr. Ira Adriati, M.Sn. and Dr. Irma Damajanti, M.Sn. conducted a design diversification for the island’s weaving and seashells products.

The aim of this activity was to help locals benefit from the increased sales of handcrafted products on Liukang Loe Island. The program consists of design training using household products samples, in which its development incorporates textiles and wood. On the other hand, the program has a training of the application Canva as a media to promote the final products.

Program’s Activities

Dr. Ira Adriati recounted that the community service training was targeted towards the craftsmen community residing in the designated village. The training of Pasir Lohe’s villagers showcased their teamwork in creating their handicrafts. There, the women contributed to pasting the seashells decors while the men constructed the required objects using plywood.
The training began by discussing the possibilities of good design diversification from the available woven fabrics and seashells in Liukang Loe Island. Then, the locals participated in creating various interior handicrafts such as lampshades, coasters, plastic cups and jewelries.

“From this coaching, the villagers realized that all this time they did not experiment much in seashells craftsmanship; they only fixated on the previous training’s blueprints made at Situbondo, East Java. Moreover, they have become more motivated to appreciate the art of weaving as their products’ specialty,” Dr. Ira Adriati explained.

“The last step of the training was the usage of Canva for publication and promotion of their products. They are also taught to take artistic pictures by making use of the island’s nature. This encourages them to advertise their work online in hopes of increasing their income,” she added.
This community service program was publicized at Media Indonesia on Tuesday, 11 Mei 2021.

Through this diversification training, the people of Liukang Loe Island are more aware of the importance of creativity in unique product designing. The result of this training proves that collaboration between local craftsmen and college associations is essential in boosting their products’ quality.

Reporter: Dheamyra Aysha Ihsanti (Perencanaan Wilayah dan Kota, 2019)
Translator: Ruth Nathania (Teknik Lingkungan, 2019)