Transcriber: Janice Budihartono Reviewer: Sebastian Betti
I clearly remember one remarkable craft back in my childhood days.
It was a picture of my sister, surrounded by stamps.
Interestingly, it’s not edited on the computer.
That was purely handmade.
My mom made it.
Growing up in this kind of manual-handmade environment,
including for my fashion,
has actually given me more exposure to appreciate the process and the people.
I admit that we’re now living in the 4.0 Industrial Revolution
where most processes are automated, connected to artificial intelligence,
but still, there is always the people for every sophisticated tech.
For there is always the craftsperson, man or woman, behind every product.
As the marketing theory said,
there is different consumer behavior from one to another.
And this also applies when we’d like to empower the people.
We have to understand
the characteristics of our target beneficiaries.
Otherwise, who do we think we are to claim,
“Yes, I have empowered that certain community."
“It has benefited XYZ amount of yada yada,”
without having an understanding of what they need,
or what their priorities in life,
nor, without even bothering to get to know more about them.
In that case, we got to be honest with this one important question:
“Do we really empower or overpower?”
Communication with empathy helps.
Only by having a two-way interaction,
we could dig further into one’s potential that we can unleash for the greater good.
And by all means, do not listen just to respond
nor to force our voices.
Because communication with empathy is about listening to understand.
I’ve learned further about this
as I co-founded heySTARTIC with my sister.
It promotes sustainable fashion
through the innovation of upcycling and community empowerment;
the people’s empowerment.
When I first met Bu Tuti, one of our pioneers,
I found her as a very bubbly person
and she is skilled in sewing clothes, by the way.
However, behind that smile, she actually bears the pain on her foot.
She limps heavily when she walks.
Does it prevent her from working in my social enterprise?
Well, I’m not going to lie to directly say “No”,
because the answer could be either "Yes" or "No".
Yes, her health might affect her in our working environment,
if she insists on being the craftsperson,
who might needs to use the foot frequently.
However,
after having an honest conversation,
we finally understand that
her health situation would have zero defect
if she works for another role.
For example, being in charge of the coloring process,
or being the spokesperson.
Communication with empathy helps.
It helps us to understand the concern
and to find the win-win solution.
To embrace that, yes, we have our flaws.
But we do have our flawless part too.
So let’s focus on this flawless part,
try to upgrade it,
and try to contribute better.
That’s the concept of empowerment that I believe in.
We have to remember that we are not the know-it-alls.
What we think is best for others
might not be actually the best from their point of view.
So that’s why, we need to communicate with empathy
to have the shared understanding.
I once had this opportunity to bring one of our pioneers
to a national TV show hosted by Andy F. Noya,
such an influential figure.
Is it something that everyone’s automatically craving to get in?
Well, in my case,
some people prefer to be behind the scenes.
If we force them to be in the spotlight,
it might actually frustrate them with unnecessary things.
It might lead them to be unproductive
instead of being grateful for the opportunity.
While on the other hand,
some other people might actually have no problem
to be in the spotlight, sharing about this, and that.
So yeah, we really need to have this communication with empathy
I finally invited Mba Marjati to that national TV show.
And her positive responses were priceless to me.
(Indonesian) “Walah, Mba, iki lho penerbangan pertamaku nang Jakarta”
“aku kudu piye?”
“Mba, kita tuh bareng Andy Noya to?”
“Walah iku lho idolaku.”
Basically, she told me
how excited she was for her first flight ever to Jakarta,
and even meeting her idol.
So during the filming,
she also did her best to share her experience,
and having a joke with the host.
So you see,
if we could share the opportunity to the right people,
to those who are looking forward to getting it,
they will treasure it.
So, it is worth it to always rethink.
Rethink how to connect the dots:
from what the community aspires to,
and how we could empower them.
Let’s implement the communication with empathy.
Get out from our own world; from our ego,
“Oh, I know this must be the best for them.
Oh, they must have needed it.”
Instead, getting connected with the people that we’d love to engage.
Because, there are always the people behind the product.
And there are us who could always communicate with empathy.