Up Close With Ikat Weaving By Mama From Maumere, Indonesia

With a very exotic Eastern Indonesia offers a wide variety of textile weaving motif choices. One of them is ikat weaving from the city of Maumere. The ancestors of the local community used to teach their descendants that women should be able to weave and even now the “mama” (mother’s call to the local community) can help support the household economy from the sale of weaving. However, it is very unfortunate, with the existence of cultural changes, the weavers mostly use chemical coloring as the basic material for coloring their fabrics. This automatically affects the surrounding environment, physical and natural damage. But now, they have begun to open up again and want to learn and produce natural colors to inspire local people that it is important to maintain environmental sustainability.

I am, Winny Nagawaty, one of the designers who love culture and history, who is now involved in sharing experiences in various parts of Indonesia. And I will share my travel journal about the stories behind the world of fashion and textiles that I have met in many cities. Indonesia has many kinds of extraordinary textiles, but often these textiles are still lacking in attention and appreciation from the community. Weavers and batik makers often find it difficult to sell their fabrics or products because they still seem ancient or traditional, and in the end they can only sell at certain times if there is a ceremony or exhibition.

Now the economic and fashion movements are spinning very fast, the craftsmen find it difficult to keep up with these developments, and finally many young people are no longer interested in learning weaving. Apart from the difficult technique, the income is uncertain. Therefore, I was very happy when I could jump in to exchange experiences with craftsmen in the field to see each other, open my eyes and mind to make better products to maintain the continuity of the natural ecosystem.

— Winny Nagawaty in Maumere, East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia

This is a piece of Journal by Winny Nagawaty (Fashion Designer and Country Team Member of Fashion Revolution in Indonesia)