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A TOTAL of 200 craftsmen of gold, silver and pearls in the city of Mataram, West Nusa Tenggara, continue to produce even though the atmosphere is relatively quiet due to demand due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Previously there were 800 crafters, but it was reduced to 400 due to the earthquake. The number has decreased again to 200 since the outbreak of the corona virus. Some have switched professions to become online ojeg and sell culinary,” said Chairman of the Mataram City Gold and Silver Pearl Craftsmen Communication Forum, H Fauzi in Mataram.
He said the craftsmen who were still producing were only able to survive while waiting for the normal situation to return, especially in the tourism sector. Some gold and pearl crafts that are produced are marketed online to several areas that are customers. Some are also marketed in gold and pearl shops that have dared to sell.
“Right now the pearl handicraft industry is like a new baby crawling. Little by little has risen, but want to sell it out can not be much. Not because of shipping constraints but the purchasing power of the community is declining,” Fauzi noted.
According to him, the impact of the spread of the corona virus was heavy for business people, both those who formally opened gold and pearl handicraft shops, as well as artisans.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, airports and ports were closed and people were unable to leave the house and move as usual because they had to follow government regulations. This condition certainly affected the visit of people to gold and pearl handicraft shops.
On the one hand, continued Fauzi, consumers of pearl handicraft products are mostly tourists from outside the area. But since the COVID-19 pandemic, all tourism activities have become quiet. Finally, gold and pearl shop owners chose to temporarily close their businesses.
“It has been three months for shops to close and reopen one week after Idul Fitri. There have already been transactions, but the volume is only 25 percent of normal conditions,” he added.
He hopes that after the new normal condition, the tourism condition will improve again, so that the visit to the centers of handicrafts and the sale of gold and pearls in the city of Mataram, will be crowded again.
Meanwhile, Head of the NTB Industry Office, Hj Nuryanti acknowledged that the condition of the pearl handicraft industry had indeed been sluggish since the COVID-19 pandemic. For the time being it cannot do much to excite one of the superior crafts because pearls are not a basic need, but are tertiary needs.
“We continue to pay attention to the crafters by providing assistance for basic needs. Henceforth, we will also help after the normal promotion of the new NTB tourism world,” she concluded. [antaranews/photo traveltext.id]
