Rajapolah is a village (''desa'') and an administrative

district A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...

(''kecamatan'') in

Tasikmalaya Regency Tasikmalaya Regency (pronounced ; , Sundanese: ) is a regency (, sub-provincial region) in the Indonesian province of West Java. With an area of , it is the biggest and most important in the southeast region of East Preanger (). Tasikmalaya Rege ...

in the Province of

West Java West Java (, ) is an Indonesian Provinces of Indonesia, province on the western part of the island of Java, with its provincial capital in Bandung. West Java is bordered by the province of Banten and the country's capital region of Jakarta to t ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

. It covers a land area of 16.40 km², and had a population of 44,479 at the 2010 CensusBiro Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2011. and 50,201 at the 2020 Census;Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2021. the official estimate as at mid 2023 was 51,965 - comprising 26,456 males and 25,509 females.Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 26 September 2024, ''Kecamatan Rajapolah Dalam Angka 2024'' (Katalog-BPS 1102001.3206240) The district is well known for its

handicrafts A handicraft is a traditional main sector of craft making and applies to a wide range of creative and design activities that are related to making things with one's hands and skill, including work with textiles, moldable and rigid material ...

, and is one of the most important districts in Tasikmalaya Regency, both economically and culturally.

Geography

Rajapolah is situated in the middle of the

drainage basin A drainage basin is an area of land in which all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, ...

of northwestern Tasikmalaya Regency. The district lies in a relatively low-laying ground at an average height of 450 m and is surrounded by the Galunggung highlands to the west and the Sawal highlands to the east. The land of the district is mainly a gently inclined area as it slopes down from the west towards the east exit channel of the basin of the

Citanduy River Ci Tanduy ( Sundanese "''Ci''" means "river", so the whole name means "Tanduy River"; ) is a river in the island of Java, Indonesia, about 270 km to the southeast of the capital Jakarta.

. Located 17 km northeast of Tasikmalaya Regency's capital Singaparna, the district comprises an area of 16.40 km², consisting of 39% of

drylands Drylands are defined by a scarcity of water. Drylands are zones where precipitation is balanced by evaporation from surfaces and by transpiration by plants (evapotranspiration). The United Nations Environment Program defines drylands as tropical ...

and 61% of

wetland A wetland is a distinct semi-aquatic ecosystem whose groundcovers are flooded or saturated in water, either permanently, for years or decades, or only seasonally. Flooding results in oxygen-poor ( anoxic) processes taking place, especially ...

. It borders with Jamanis District to the north, and borders with

Ciamis Regency Ciamis Regency (Indonesian: ''Kabupaten Ciamis'', Sundanese: ) is a landlocked regency in West Java, Indonesia, and shares a provincial border with Central Java. Its seat is the town of Ciamis, also the primary urban center. Formerly, the rege ...

to the east as it lined with Citanduy River. On the south, Rajapolah is bounded by Cisayong District, and on the west is bounded by Sukahening District.

Villages

The district centre is in the village of Rajapolah, and the district is sub-divided into eight rural villages (''desa''), all listed below with their areas and populations as at mid 2023,Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 26 September 2024, ''Kecamatan Rajapolah Dalam Angka 2024'' (Katalog-BPS 1102001.3206240) together with their postcodes.

Culture

The people of Rajapolah District, with an estimated population of 51,965 in mid 2023,Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 26 September 2024, ''Kecamatan Rajapolah Dalam Angka 2024'' (Katalog-BPS 1102001.3206240) are noted for their traditional works, the handicrafts. They produced a wide range area of crafts, from decorative items such as wall hangings, rugs,

jewelry box Jewelry Box may refer to: * ''Jewelry Box'' (Shizuka Kudo album), 2002 * ''Jewelry Box'' (T-ara album), 2012 See also * Casket (decorative box) A casket is a decorative box or container that is usually smaller than a chest and is typically ...

es, picture frames, to functional goods, like

basket A basket is a container that is traditionally constructed from stiff Fiber, fibers, and can be made from a range of materials, including wood splints, Stolon, runners, and cane. While most baskets are made from plant materials, other materials ...

bag A bag, also known regionally as a sack, is a common tool in the form of a floppy container, typically made of cloth, leather, bamboo, paper, or plastic. The use of bags predates recorded history, with the earliest bags being lengths of animal s ...

mat A mat is a hard or soft floor covering that generally is placed on a floor or other flat surface. Mats serve a range of purposes including: * serving to clean items passed over it, such as a doormat, which removes dirt from the soles of shoe ...

s, racks,

plates Plate may refer to: Cooking * Plate (dishware), broad, mainly flat vessel commonly used to serve food * Plates, tableware, dishes or dishware used for setting a table, serving food and dining * Plate, the content of such a plate (for example: ...

sandal Sandals are an open type of shoe, consisting of a sole held to the wearer's foot by straps going over the instep and around the ankle. Sandals can also have a heel. While the distinction between sandals and other types of footwear can sometim ...

s, and

cushion A cushion is a soft bag of some ornamental material, usually stuffed with wool, hair, feathers, polyester staple fiber, non-woven material, cotton, or even paper torn into fragments. It may be used for sitting or kneeling upon, or to soften ...

s. Their products are exported worldwide, mainly to the U.S.A., Europe, and some Asian regions. Most of the artisans created their works traditionally with their hands through

weaving Weaving is a method of textile production in which two distinct sets of yarns or threads are interlaced at right angles to form a fabric or cloth. Other methods are knitting, crocheting, felting, and braiding or plaiting. The longitudinal ...

, plaiting, and coiling, and commonly using simple and traditional equipment. Their creations are mainly made from

natural material * A ″ natural material a substance that comes from plants, animals, or the earth, and has not been made by humans.. Minerals and the metals that can be extracted from them (without further modification) are also considered to belong into this ...

s, such as

wood Wood is a structural tissue/material found as xylem in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulosic fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin t ...

bamboo Bamboos are a diverse group of mostly evergreen perennial plant, perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily (biology), subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family, in th ...

reed Reed or Reeds may refer to: Science, technology, biology, and medicine * Reed bird (disambiguation) * Reed pen, writing implement in use since ancient times * Reed (plant), one of several tall, grass-like wetland plants of the order Poales * Re ...

cane Cane or caning may refer to: *Walking stick, or walking cane, a device used primarily to aid walking * Assistive cane, a walking stick used as a mobility aid for better balance * White cane, a mobility or safety device used by blind or visually i ...

(

rattan Rattan, also spelled ratan (from Malay language, Malay: ''rotan''), is the name for roughly 600 species of Old World climbing palms belonging to subfamily Calamoideae. The greatest diversity of rattan palm species and genera are in the clos ...

), rush,

water hyacinth ''Pontederia crassipes'' (formerly ''Eichhornia crassipes''), commonly known as common water hyacinth, is an aquatic plant native to South America, naturalized throughout the world, and often invasive species, invasive outside its native rang ...

, sisal fibre, ash-wood splints, jute cord, absorbent paper, pandan, mendong (

straw Straw is an agricultural byproduct consisting of the dry wikt:stalk, stalks of cereal plants after the grain and chaff have been removed. It makes up about half of the crop yield, yield by weight of cereal crops such as barley, oats, rice, ry ...

), and other natural materials.

Notes and references

{{Commons category, Rajapolah Tasikmalaya Regency