Pagatan Weaving Business Incubator: ULM Faculty of Social and Political Sciences’ Efforts to Preserve Tanah Bumbu’s Cultural Heritage

South Kalimantan is not only known for its natural beauty and rich culinary traditions, but also holds a valuable cultural heritage. One such heritage is Pagatan woven cloth, a traditional art form from the coast of Tanah Bumbu Regency.

Despite its beautiful motifs and profound philosophical meaning, Pagatan woven cloth is still less widely known than other Indonesian woven fabrics. Crafted using traditional techniques and natural dyes, each piece of Pagatan woven cloth is not just clothing, but also a symbol of the identity and local wisdom of the Pagatan people.

However, this cultural heritage is less widely known, even among South Kalimantan residents themselves. People are more familiar with sasirangan cloth, which is more popular as a souvenir. In reality, Pagatan woven cloth is a unique cultural heritage with high economic value.

The lengthy production process, which takes approximately one month, means that there are very few weavers left in the region. This situation ultimately has the potential to cause us to lose the next generation of weavers.

This is the basis for implementing a community service program called the “Pagatan Weaving Business Incubator” as an effort to develop women’s communities based on economic development in Tanah Bumbu Regency. This program was initiated by a team of lecturers from the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences (FISIP) at the University of Muhammadiyah Malang (ULM), led by Anjani, along with M. Najeri Al Syahrin and Sri Hidayah (FISIP), and Akhsanul Rakhmatullah.

This service program is fully supported by the Bima National Grant. This assistance is a research and community service funding program sourced from the State Budget (APBN) through the Ministry of Higher Education, Science, and Technology (Kemendiktisaintek).

This program not only targets existing weavers but also encourages the younger generation in the coastal areas of Tanah Bumbu Regency to become empowered and productive in processing and managing Pagatan woven products while preserving their local cultural heritage.

“This community service program targets young women and mothers to collaborate on production and marketing,” said Anjani.

Furthermore, Anjani emphasized that the program focuses not only on technical skills.

“In this activity, weavers are also taught to create product narratives to increase demand for woven products, not only from an economic and MSME perspective, but also by enriching narratives about the local history and culture that are so strongly embedded in woven products,” she added.

Since its implementation in May 2025, this development program has shown significant results. One of the activities undertaken to increase the marketing of this distinctive Pagatan woven fabric is digital training. They learn not only about production but also about marketing through digital channels such as social media and e-commerce.

The results of this program can be seen in the output or woven products produced, which are not only in the form of fabric but also processed into various types of items such as wallets, bags, scarves, and so on. Furthermore, they are also taught to develop digital skills in marketing through e-commerce.

Through the ability to utilize digital marketing technology, it is hoped that it can help not only from an economic perspective but also help preserve local cultural heritage through effective and interactive promotions.