The big poster outside the VIP Room at Yogyakarta’s Adisucipto International Airport was very enticing, a photograph of an incense maker, together with information about tourism to the incense production center at Mranggen, Waru Village, Demak, Central Java, around 25 km towards Demak from Semarang.
Around five years ago, there were many incense producers in the village, making it famous as the major incense production center in Central Java. At that time, nearly 60% of the hio – Chinese incense used in prayers at temples (kelenteng) and other places of worship – used in Semarang and nearby cities was produced here.
But now, as lunar New Year (Imlek) 2561 approaches, there are only two incense producers left. One is the Suparno family. Suparno (50) and his wife Gunarti (42) pioneered hio production in Waru around eight years ago. He used to employ up to eight people when they had a lot of orders.
“Back then, we shipped 100 kg of hio to Semarang every day. Now, it’s never more than 70 kg per day, so we only employ family members,” Suparno explained.
He said that the decline in demand has occurred not because fewer people are worshipping, but because the market has been flooded with incense imported from China, which is both cheaper and of better quality.
“Traditional producers like us are just counting the days to bankruptcy. What will be our fate when free trade with China is fully implemented?” he asked.
Currently, together with his wife and two children, Suparno produces hio in various sizes, using traditional methods, at their simple home. The product is marketed by a business operator in Semarang.
The hio is made entirely by hand, without any machinery. The raw material consists of teak sawdust, glue, powdered saltpeter and calcium, bamboo sticks, and coloring material. The fragrances include sandalwood, jasmine, and rose, which they get from a middleman in Semarang.
The hio production process starts by smearing glue onto the thin bamboo sticks, which are then rolled in the mixture of sawdust, fragrance, saltpeter and calcium. The sticks are then dried in the sun, dipped in a tank of coloring material, and sun-dried again.
Each day, the Suparno family produces around 70 kg of hio sticks. “It may seem like a lot, but our profit is only Rp 20 per large stick and Rp 500 per kilogram of the small sticks,” noted Suparno, who first started making hio in 1977 in Surabaya.
Despite their low income, Suparno and his family are still eager to continue producing hio. The competition from China has been a setback, but they’re not giving up. He feels that this work is more than just a way to earn money, but also a form of service to others.
“This hio is used in worship, so we are helping people in their prayers. Making others happy brings happiness to us as well,” he says.
