Joglo Houses in Yogyakarta

I read it just now, and felt sad when realize it. Well there's no enough money here to protect cultural assets from rich buyers and maybe no other choices for Joglo's owners. They have to stay alive too, with their family, childrens, needs...

Traditional Joglo House Could Soon Disappear from Kotagede

Slamet Susanto, The Jakarta Post, Yogyakarta

Joglo, a Javanese traditional house, will soon disappear from Kotagede, Yogyakarta should the current rate of sales and conversion continue.

Based on the data from the Kotagede Art, Culture, and Tourism Institute, between 1985 and 2007, Kotagede lost only one Joglo per year, but after the 2006 earthquake, the city has lost 31 joglos.

The other 25 damaged joglos have also been sold as the owners could not shoulder the renovation cost.

"I am crying when seeing the fact," Nashier, an activist from the Kotagede Art, Culture, and Tourism Institute, said. "Can you imagine, a joglo, which has been there for hundreds of years, must be sold only for Rp 5 million (US$500) or Rp 15 million due to an economic hardship after the earthquake,"

He said Kotagede joglos had declined from more than 200 to 125 joglos, and the number could drop further should there be no certain measures from the government to deal with the sales and conversion of joglos.

"We have proposed a tax break for joglo owners ten years ago, but there is no approval from the government up to now," Nashier said.

He also called on the government to find a grant in order to prevent joglos from being sold and converted to different kinds of buildings.

"So far, we have done such an effort. We just got funds from the University of Gadjah Mada to take over six joglos and conserve them," he said.