I met Alfonsa Horeng for the 1st time in Cyberspace, via an online weaving community on Facebook. She regularly posted her weaving activities and her travels around the world via social media presenting the beautiful textiles of Flores. I was truly inspired by her journey and very impressed by her devotion to Flore’s traditional textiles.
Alfonsa was born in the Nita district of Flores, and in the past few years, she has managed to put so much into the village she loves. She returned to Nita a few years back and decided to concentrate on developing the traditional textile from her village. In the process, she has managed to develop small tourism activities here, promoting weaving and her village via Lepo Lorum, a weaving centre she created a few years back. Working with her brother, together they have managed to develop Lepo Lorum to become one of the most visited weavings in Flores, outside of Watublapi and Sikka.
After several years following her activities in cyberspace, in early April 2014, I finally met up with Alfonsa, during a national craft exhibition in Jakarta. In her exhibit, Alfonsa displayed a very impressive range of ikat designs woven by a member of their weaving society in Nita. In between her busy schedules, she agreed to have a short interview with me, which we published for Connect Indonesia, The Charity.
Alfonsa Horeng is a very successful story about Flores weaving, and her journey to develop a small industry in her village has touched many people around the world.
If you have any queries related to this blog, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Salam Wastra,
Nelly
