In the first day’s seminar, West Java Governor Ridwan Kamil responded well to the idea of a Terracotta City, even with very tactical steps; designing several public buildings in Majalengka using terracotta materials. For him, Jatiwangi must have a new ‘menu’ of processing soil other than tile and brick, as an effort to encourage the growth of a new economy that remains based on local resources, which is soil. He even determined that Terracotta could be the identity of the city of Majalengka.
At the second day seminar in the first panel, the discussion focused on the possibility of the idea of a Terracotta City being included in the Majalengka District Government’s masterplan document. For this reason, we invite the BAPPELITBANGDA (the Regional City Planning of Majalengka) which has the authority to design macro-scale masterplan documents and BMCK (the Regional Civil Engineering Department) who in charge of designing micro-scale master plan documents. These two departments welcomed the idea of Terracotta City. They see this as a city planning idea that comes directly from citizens and closely related to local contexts and resources. Continue what has been started and discussed in the “Kisah Ruang Empat (4) Babak” forum organized by the KKK.
In the second panel, we invited BPN (the National Land Affairs Department) — the government institution led by the BKP — and DLH (Regional Environmental Department) to discuss the idea of a Terracotta City culturally and ecologically. The National Land Affairs Department sees this idea as an effort by citizens to empower land which is an important aspect in the context of land ownership. The Regional Environmental Department then added various ecological considerations that must be considered such as maintaining resource balance from the land for Terracotta City and controlling waste also pollution.
In the first panel of the third day, we invite DISPERINDAG JABAR (the Provincial Industry and Trade Department) and DISPERINDAG Majalengka (The Regional Industry and Trade Department) to discuss the possibility of diversifying terracotta products to become a new industry in Jatiwangi. This idea certainly requires assistance from upstream to downstream, especially in the area of production and distribution.
In the second panel, we invited BMKG (the Meteorology and Geophysics Department) to give its views, especially because the land is a natural resource that is greatly influenced by geographical conditions. They see that this idea has opportunity to maintain an ecological balance and can create a more friendly and sustainable industrial city. According to their forecast, Jatiwangi will experience a rise in temperature until 2040 and become the hottest area in Majalengka. Proportional utilization of soil material in architecture can be one solution in overcoming rising temperatures in Jatiwangi because soil material can absorb heat and release it when the ambient temperature becomes cold. Beside, the terracota industry is also very dependent on the balance of weather and climate, because if it is too hot or the intensity of rain is too large it will cause production failure. For this reason, the idea of a terracota city can encourage the availability of green open space and control the intensity of buildings that cause global warming due to the greenhouse effect. 