The Commercial Value of Mangrove-Based Pigments as Natural Dye for Batik Textiles

Mangrove, or bakau as it is known in Indonesia, is one of the vegetations commonly found along the shallow coasts, estuaries, deltas and protected coastal areas and are still influenced by rising tides. After the Aceh tsunami disaster, mangrove restoration was intensively conducted in coastal areas all over Indonesia and was made into a special conservation program by the government. Mangrove is distinguishable by its big, wooden stilt roots, sharpening tip in the form of supporting leaves. The roots of the mangrove tree are morphologically distinguishable into heart root which grows into the ground and the stilt root which appear to grabs onto the surface of the ground. Mangrove forests serve several important ecological roles: they act as filters which turns saline water into fresh water, buffer from seawater intrusion, prevent erosion and abrasion, hold sediments to form new habitats, feeding ground, nursery ground, and spawning ground for a number of aquatic wildlife. Mangrove forest also possess economical functions such as as source of income, industrial ingredients for the locals and as source of new mangrove seedlings. Mangunhardjo Village, Urban Community of Mangunhardjo, Mangkang Area, Kecamatan of Tugu, Semarang City, Indonesia was an area dotted with brackish water pond. However, the area had been suffering from the effects of climate change, being inundated by overflow of river and seawater intrusion (rob). These disasters caused decline in the productivity of the ponds in the area. In an effort to combat the adverse effect of environmental change in the area, the locals of Mangunhardjo village decided to shift their livelihood by restoring the surrounding mangrove forest. Mangrove conservation at Mangunhardjo Village was conducted through activities of the program such as mangrove planting, mangrove-based food production, and mangrove waste management by applications of bioactivator bacteria for mangrove composting and production of mangrove-based natural dye for batik fabric. Mangrove-based natural dye for batik fabric from Rhizopora mucronata mangrove waste is a quite promising product and increases people’s income.