Garuda Indonesia Colours Magazine April 2019 | Page 52

Lifestyle / Handcrafted
handcrafted
Explore the archipelago's artistry
through a different traditional craft.
Pulutan Ceramics
For many centuries, earthenware
crafts from Pulutan village in Minahasa
District, North Sulawesi, have been
widely known for their high quality.
One of their secrets lies in the raw
material, consisting of local clay and
other materials imported from Java:
kaolin, talc and vesper. A mixture is
formed, then fired at a high
temperature.
Potterymaking as a tradition in
Pulutan village and its surrounds dates
back to the Neolithic era; various
ancient objects, including clay jars,
have been found by the Manado
Archaeological Centre. Today,
craftspeople use machines as well as
age-old techniques to improve the
quality so that their products are
worthy of being exported.
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Interestingly, tourists visit Pulutan
not only to buy finished products
or to observe the process of
potterymaking, but also to order
bespoke ware featuring motifs
or shapes of their choosing.
Sejak lama, kerajinan gerabah dari
Desa Pulutan di Kabupaten Minahasa,
Sulawesi Utara, telah dikenal luas
berkat kualitas yang tinggi.
Salah satu kuncinya terletak pada
bahan baku, terdiri atas tanah liat
lokal serta bahan lain yang
didatangkan dari Jawa: kaolin, talk,
dan felspar. Campuran ini dibentuk,
lalu dibakar dengan suhu tinggi.
Pembuatan gerabah telah menjadi
tradisi di Desa Pulutan dan sekitarnya
sejak zaman Neolitikum. Terbukti,
berbagai benda hasil temuan
Balai Arkeologi Manado, di antaranya
tempayan dari tanah liat. Saat ini,
pembuatan gerabah bisa dilakukan
secara modern menggunakan mesin,
demi meningkatkan kualitas agar
layak diekspor.
Yang menarik, wisatawan yang
menyambangi Desa Pulutan tak
sekadar membeli atau melihat
proses pembuatan gerabah,
melainkan juga dapat memesan
motif atau bentuk sesuai keinginan.
Getting there
Coding of Cities/Airports:
MDC
Garuda Indonesia flies 23 times
a week from Jakarta to Manado.
Flight time from Jakarta is 3 hours.