Abstract:
The tobacco plantation in the area of Klaten
Regency (Central Java) and Jember Regency
(East Java) has many huge barns which
dominate the surrounding landscape since the
year of 1850s, named Los. Los is for
drying tobacco. The Los(es) can be found in
remote area in the villages; such as in Bendo
Gantungan village within Gayamprit tobacco
plantation in Klaten Regency; and in Ajong
village within Ajong Gayasan tobacco
plantation in Jember Regency. Both areas of
tobacco plantations are under the
management of PTPN X enterprise
(government's enterprise).
It was confirmed from previous research of
Los in Klaten Regency that the Los has high
vernacular values, not only from its
organization of space, but also from its form,
its local materials, and its local techniques.
But the vernacular quality of Los is threatened
by the nowadays situation we never expect
before. For instance, the global change of the
climate makes the wind blows more severe.
This has been damaging many Loses in Jember
Regency due to the light materials the Loses
have which could not be saved from the harm
of harsh wind. The light materials apply to the
main structure of the Loses are from bamboo
materials. Moreover, there were also some
Loses which accidentally burnt out because of
their vulnerable materials to the fire. In
which its main structure now was changed
from bamboo piles to reinforced concrete
columns, and so forth. It is unavoidably
expected that in the future the vernacular
quality of Los will be ruined.
This paper will explore the possible ways to
reconstruct the Los in the future with very
little destruction to its vernacular quality. This
means that the vernacular traditions of the
Los should be continued as much as possible.
