Authentic Dayaknese Handcrafted Souvenirs at Jagoi Kindau in Bengkayang

The Island of Kalimantan or often called Borneo is probably the most unique island among the five largest islands in Indonesia – Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, Papua, and the Kalimantan itself. The island is shared by the Malaysian states of Sabah and Sarawak, Indonesian, and Brunei. The lush rainforest, the Dayaknese, Pontianak, Mount Kinabalu, as well as the Derawan Islands, are the few things that I would be reminded of immediately when we talk about Kalimantan.

The Creative Village of Jagoi Kindau

Probably, not often heard, but Bengkayang, one of the regencies in West Kalimantan that located a few hours away from Pontianak, resides a village where almost all the villagers have the skills to produce handicrafts made out of bamboo and rattan. This Creative Village of Jagoi Kindau is part of Sekida Village, in the sub-district of Jagoi Babang. The village location is very close to the country’s border with Malaysia. There is no internet coverage yet in this area, hence, we won’t be able to locate the exact point of this village on Google map.

Even so, don’t be surprised that this creative village is already quite well-known to our neighboring country, Malaysia. Every week, the market traders from Sarawak buy all the goods from Jagoi Kindau and resale it in the market in Sarawak. The good sale items usually are products made from rattan such as mats, bags, handbags, keychains, dishwares, to name a few.

Besides the usual type of items they have, they also do accept customization based on customer requests. On top of that, the villagers have also started to grow Orchids and sell it to visitors who are keen. All product quality is improved through times and training which get this village to earn its title as Creative Village by the local government.

[Photo Credits: Education, Youth, and Sports Office for Bengkayang]

Jagoi Kindau in Benkayang and API Awards 2020

When I exchanged messages with  I Made Putra Negara, the Chief of Education, Youth, and Sports Office for Bengkayang, he was so enthusiastic to share the information about Jagoi Kindau. Especially, because this year Jagoi Kindau is listed as one of the nominees in Anugerah Pesona Indonesia (API) Awards 2020 in “The Most Popular Shopping Destination” category, the chance to get more people to know about Jagoi Kindau is getting higher. I, myself, was excited as well when receiving the information.

Vote Jagoi Kindau at Anugerah Pesona Indonesia Award 2020!
Just type API 5C and SMS to 99386 or ♥ the Instagram post above. 1 SMS/1 ♥ = 1 vote.

While I was digging for more information, I was wondering how many Indonesian do actually know about Jagoi Kindau? Is it more popular for foreign visitors especially Malaysian than to the local Indonesian themselves? Would it be a shame that we don’t even know about these handcrafted Dayaknese souvenirs which can be considered unique to Indonesia?

I admit that Jagoi Kindau in Bengkayang was out of my radar at all before this. But after knowing some of the facts about this creative village, I must say that I am intrigued to go there if I have a chance. Overmore, it is a way to support the locals, isn’t it?

And you, what kind of souvenirs would you love to get when you visit one country or place? What do you think about Jagoi Kindau Creative Village?