Indonesian ‘Propaganda’ T-Shirts Selling For a Cause

Colorful stickers in the shapes of diamonds and squares are glued to the front door of a small shop in Kemang, South Jakarta.

One of them reads, “The Only Indonesia I Love” and another is a version of the heart symbol T-shirt, with a garuda, the national symbol of the country, in place of the heart.

On the glass wall, wave-shaped stickers in red and white form the shape of a flag, adding brightness to the shop’s appearance.

The location of the small store is marked by two trees and a power pole on the street, each tied with a red and white checkered cloth. The interior is light, with white walls and a red ceiling.

A mannequin, dressed in a bright yellow T-shirt and carrying a canvas bag, stands by the door. The shirt reads, “Brave girls go to Indonesia.”

“This is not a distro [distribution store, a popular reference by youngsters to small, independent boutiques], this is a propaganda shop,” said Toni Kusumo, the owner of Provotoko.

Provo is short for provocation, referring to an action to stimulate pride, and toko is the Bahasa Indonesian word for shop.

Provotoko is a part of Indonesia Bertindak (Indonesia in Action), a campaign initiated by Toni’s older brother, Iwan Esjepe, and his wife Indah to motivate Indonesians into being nationalistic. The campaign started four years ago, triggered by a 6.3-magnitude quake in Yogyakarta in 2006, which destroyed about 354,000 houses.

At the time, Iwan and Indah, who both work for advertising agencies, designed and produced T-shirts to help raise money for the quake survivors.

The couple bought a T-shirt printing machine and Toni, Iwan and Indah printed the shirts themselves.

“We are basically a home-based industry. We are not an organization,” said Toni, who also runs a home-based business in Bogor.

“Our job is to spread this virus [to love Indonesia]. We have no one director [who heads the organization] or anything.”

The money to start up the Bertindak campaign came from Iwan and Indah’s own savings. They saved money by scrimping on their household budget.

After the first batch of shirts for the earthquake survivors was sold out, many of the couple’s friends were still inquiring if they still accepted donations.

More T-shirts were produced, one of the most popular was a design that included a map of Indonesia and the message, “Travel Warning: Indonesia, Dangerously Beautiful.”

Indonesia in Action has sold T-shirts and other items on the Internet for the past four years. The money they earn is distributed to survivors of disasters, such as those who have experienced earthquakes or floods. They also use earnings to produce stickers and posters.

The shop, however, was opened only four months ago. “A lot of people told us they would like to see the products first before buying them, maybe to check the materials,” Toni said, when asked why they decided to open a store.

Provotko is situated in the same building as the advertising agency Iwan works for. It quickly became a place where other groups could also sell their merchandise. T-shirts of all sizes hang neatly from the walls, along with some books, mugs and brochures.

The books are essays and poems by Sapardi Djoko Darmono, a famous Indonesian poet, who is related to the brothers. One of more unique items for sale is bottled mud, taken from the Sidoarjo, East Java, site, where a volcanic eruption happened the same year as the Yogyakarta quake.

With T-shirts costing between Rp 60,000 to Rp 90,000 ($6 to $9),Toni said that they might not collect a big enough amount to donate.

He would not disclose how much the campaign has donated in total, but said that for him and his colleagues, the most important thing is to encourage people to love their homeland.

Occasionally, the three of them coordinate camping trips with customers, which they say give them a chance to discuss their ideas for further developing the campaign to spread a real sense of patriotism through the country.













http://thejakartaglobe.com/fashion/indonesian-propaganda-t-shirts-selling-for-a-cause/332685