Local Material Practice as a Collective Spatial System in a Craft Neighborhood

Abstract

This article demonstrates how spatial production occurs within local material practices as socially and spatially structured phenomenon. Discourses in local material practice often emphasized the repetitive production processes as cultural expressions; however, the spatial dimension of these practices remains under-explored. Understanding how space is produced and utilized in the process of making 'gerabah' as one of the original Indonesian pottery crafts in Yogyakarta provides new insight into the ecological, social, and technological systems that sustain local communities. This research is important to bridge the knowledge between cultural production studies and spatial analysis within the context of local craft industries. The main objective explores how local craftspeople organize and utilize space throughout the stages of material transformation, and how these spatial practices reflect, sustain, and shape collective systems of production and cultural identity. Based on data collected through field observation and semi-structured interview among craftsmen in Kasongan Village, this study employs spatial reading as an analytical approach to understand how space is produced. The result suggests that by analyzing the interrelations between spatial layers, such as production zones, organizational structures, and dynamic operational patterns may reveal the underlying logic of spatial organization embedded in traditional craft environments.