Celebrating the Festive Season with Kokoru

Year end is associated with celebration and togetherness that we are anticipating for. Asia Pulp & Paper (APP) Sinar Mas begins the festivities by refreshing us with one of its paper products, Kokoru. Made of corrugated paper material, it can be transformed into various handicrafts loved by kids and adults – especially during special moments with family.

What is the holiday season with Kokoru all about? Keep reading our article to get acquainted with Chrisna Handayani, Creative Designer of Kokoru.

Since the launch of the Kokoru in 2011, Chrisna has started creating handicrafts using Kokoru paper. At first, she learned the basics on a self-taught basis with the help of books as inspiration. Slowly but surely, she started looking for references from popular trends around her, such as films that are currently on the rise in cinemas. "If we have the concept of how to make it, we can develop it ourselves," said Chrisna.

Kokoru paper is produced by PT Indah Kiat Pulp & Paper (PT IKPP) Tangerang Mill. Similar to cardboards, Kokoru is made of corrugated paper that consist of 2 sides, straight and wavy (whereas cardboards have 3 sides, straight-wavy-straight). When it was first launched, Kokoru only had 2 variants; Ichi (long paper) and Hachi (A4 size). Along its development, Kokoru is now available in 19 colors.

Creative Activities

Creating Kokoru crafts is an exciting activity that can be done with family, especially for children. On top of bringing family members together, this activity also hones children’s creativity and motor skills.

Throughout 11 years with Kokoru, Chrisna has encountered many interesting experiences. It was beyond her expectations to see the appeal Kokoru has – from children to government officials, even to foreigners. During Kokoru Goes to School event, she had the opportunity to visit schools in Kokoru's export destination countries, such as Malaysia and Singapore. This was a memorable experience for her, where she taught the basics of Kokoru craft as well as being taught the local cultures.

Aside from going international, PT IKPP Tangerang also holds a routine Kokoru program with the Kindergarten Teachers Association (IGTK). This program shares Kokoru crafts with teachers in hopes that they can pass creative ideas on handicrafts to their students.

Inspire to Create

Kokoru craft requires perseverance and creativity. For enthusiasts who want to start creating Kokoru crafts, inspirations and guidance must be highly valued. Interest in Kokoru crafts has apparently expanded, judging by the various Kokoru inspirational guidebooks that have been circulating in the market. Chrisna has also published Kokoru-based books in collaboration with Erlangga on the animal kingdom and transportation.

Sustainable Crafts

Creativity is not just about making something beautiful or cute, but also about finding ways to make the most of available resources. From her experience, Chrisna conveyed her inspiration to combine Kokoru crafts with various items around her that are no longer used.

One of Chrisna's Kokoru crafts that used recycled materials is a deer-shaped container. Inspired by the character 'Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer', Chrisna used tissue cores as the main material which is then decorated with Kokoru. "Besides this (core tissue), you can also use paper cups, paper plates. So, everything that we feel is no longer valuable, instead of throwing it away, we can recycle it to make these crafts," said Chrisna.

Creativity knows no end. Inspiration may not always come, but you can seek it with enthusiasm and optimism. Without realizing it, we are already in the last month of 2022. “There is still tomorrow. So, if this year we feel how come I'm just like this, or have experienced many disasters, just keep believing. Hopefully, next year everything will be much better than this year," said Chrisna in welcoming the new year 2023.