Eight lecturers of the Department of Regional and Urban Planning (PWK), Faculty of Engineering UB (FTUB) gave training on “Eco Printing” for the Griyashanta resident.
Those lecturers who are part of the Environment, Infrastructure, and Information System (EIIS) Laboratory conducted training for 4 days, 19-22 September 2020.
Training is carried out while adhering to health protocols and limiting training participants to 12 people per day.
“We want to improve their skills and to be more productive even during a pandemic. We believe this eco printing product can help because it has a high selling value, and can reduce waste production, especially organic waste,” said Imma Widyawati Agustin, S.T., M.T., Ph.D., as the Chief Executive.
In its implementation, Imma who is also the Head of EIIS Lab is assisted by seven other lecturers; Dr Ir Budi Sugiarto Waloejo MSP, DrTech Christia Meidiana ST MEng, Ir Ismu Rini Dwi Ari MT PhD, Adipandang Yudono SSi MURP, Dr Septiana Hariyani ST MT, Nailah Firdausiyah ST MT MSc, and Kartika Eka Sari ST MT.
Eco printing activity itself is a process of transferring colors and shapes to fabrics through direct contact between fabrics and leaves. Eco printing techniques are usually applied to natural fibrous materials such as canvas, cotton, silk, and linen.
The process of making eco-printing consists of natural materials and does not use chemicals so it is more environmentally friendly. In this training, the training participants received two eco printing techniques; steam and Pounding/Hapazome.
“Currently, eco printing is a skill that has the potential to compete in the textile market, and is suitable for small and medium enterprises because the cheap main material, that is leaves,” Imma added.
After delivering the material, the training participants directly practiced on the media that had been provided by the training organizer, of course, still being guided by the mentors.
The first technique that is practiced is the steam method. Participants are directed to follow the instructions from the trainer, starting from arranging the leaves on the cloth as creative as possible, then folding them in half, then rolling them using wood, and finally tied it using raffia rope.
The coloring process will occur after steamed it for approximately one hour. After the steaming process and letting it cool, the cloth is ready to be opened.
While waiting for the steaming process to finish, participants are invited to use the second method, which is Pounding/Hapazome. The second method is simpler, participants only need to place the leaf on the fabric and pound while stretching it with the hammer until the leaf motif is printed on the fabric.
“This method is quite easy but also rather tiring, but the results are very satisfying because it can be immediately seen,” Christia Meidiana said while showing the participant how to pound the leaf on the fabric.
The final process of the two methods is the same, that is fixation. After being steamed and pounded, cloths that already have a pattern must first be aerated for 3-5 days then soaked with alum/soda ash solution to tie the color to the fabric. (ros/mic)
