Friday, August 30, 2024, Dharma Wanita Persatuan Vocational School of Diponegoro University held a batik training “Batik Ecoprint (Ecopounding)”. Ecoprint batik is a type of batik that is manufactured using natural dyes from tannin or leaf, root, or stem dyes that are placed on a piece of cloth.
The traditional environmentally friendly fabric printing technique, eco print, uses natural materials such as vegetable and leaf dyes. It has many advantages, such as producing unique, varied, and environmentally friendly patterns. However, there are also disadvantages, such as difficulty predicting the final result and no clear standardization for this method.
From the eco print technique in training conducted by Dharma Wanita Persatuan Vocational School of Diponegoro University, the compounding type is used, which is when leaves, flowers, branches, or plant roots are arranged according to the desired pattern on the media (cloth) and then beaten using a wooden hammer or another beater with the hope that the color in the plant material is transferred to the existing cloth media according to the desired pattern. If the pattern has been formed, the plant media as a source of pattern and material is released from the cloth media, and the following process is carried out to obtain a permanent color (does not fade).
The purpose of this training is to improve the skills of the Dharma Wanita Persatuan Vocational School of Diponegoro University mothers by making batik works with eco print techniques independently, preserving the environment by encouraging the use of natural and environmentally friendly materials in the coloring and batik making process and developing businesses by providing knowledge and skills that can be used as capital to start or grow businesses in the textile and fashion sector, especially in the production of eco print batik. In addition, mothers who receive eco print training with the compounding technique gain a new understanding of how to utilize abundant natural resources in their residential environment independently as an environmentally friendly, economical, and creative way of life that can be processed separately, which is expected to be an environmentally friendly, economical and creative livelihood.
In this batik training activity, the event was opened by the Chairperson of the Dharma Wanita Persatuan Sekolah Vokasi Undip, Mrs. Ir. Dwi Erlina E, M.Sc., and continued with a briefing by the chairperson of the committee, Dr. Heny Kusumayanti, S.T., M.T. This training invited speakers who taught techniques in the batik process, Mrs. Rahayuningsih and Mr. Sugiyono, He taught how to hit leaves with a wooden hammer so that the color can come out evenly. The equipment used in this ecoprint batik is a cloth/tote bag, two pieces of mica as a base, leaves, and a bucket. He soaked the batik cloth before use (mordant) and fixed/locked it so the resulting color did not fade. At the end of this activity, there was a distribution of dozens of door prizes to the participants and prizes for winners 1-5 with the best batik results. Then, it closed with a group photo.