Developing the Plered's Ceramic Cluster, West Java by Encouraging Building the Model House and Introducing Kampoeng Keramik

Ceramic Industrial Cluster in Plered, West Java is an example of a cluster in Indonesia. This cluster produces a variety of ceramics that is sold to the local market as well as the international market. The ceramic industrial cluster in Plered consists of tiles, decorative ceramics, tableware, and roof tiles. A large contribution towards the supply of domestic needs, foreign exchange earnings, and employment opportunities is due in part to the ceramic industrial cluster in Plered. However, several problems emerged in regard to the sustainability of the ceramic cluster, which are: similar goods that enter from China into the domestic market, a low production capacity caused by the limitation in good and standard production equipment, a low level of entrepreneur and workers’ understanding towards the method and technology in making good quality product, as well as a low mentality and quality of human resources in facing global market challenges. This paper argues for there to be a change in approach to the actors inside the cluster in Plered in order to overcome the obstacles mentioned above. Two of the solutions suggested are: (1) to build a model house/model of a production facility; (2) to introduce a tour of Kampoeng Keramik.