There has been an ongoing discussion on whether the government have to invest in preserving traditional crafts following the decline in traditional craftmanship skills. As someone who was born and grew in Yogyakarta, a small town in Indonesia that really value arts and craftmanship, I have to agree with this motion.
Growing up in Yogyakarta, I can see the beauty of arts and the delicacy of craftmanship everywhere. Alongside the road, the city lamps were designed and created by local specialized blacksmith. The lamps, painted in green and yellow, have unique curvy shapes that look like tree stems. In city centres, we can find manhole covers, bins, and mail box in similar style, also created by local business. From this example, we can say that in some cities, preserving traditional craftmanships also means supporting local businesses.
Aside from that, I also learned that traditional crafts also mean history. A lot of traditional arts are parts of cultural histories. For example, wayang kulit, a traditional puppet art from Central Java that made by animal leathers, does not only offer a beautiful and unique human portraits for entertainment purposes, but also serves as a educational tools in previous century. Back then, people used wayang kulit performances as a platform to teach wisdom and pass on moral stories. Every performance will involve various roles, like dalang or the storyteller, sinden or the singer to make the storytelling more appealing, and gamelan, a group of traditional musician. Taking this as an example, we can see that preserving traditional arts is coherent with preserving the history.
Considering both examples, I agree that the government should start to invest in preserving traditional craftmanship skills. With that investment, we will be able to pass on the skills to the young generation, and ensure that the beauty of the traditional crafts could still be enjoyed by them in the future.