This photo was taken at the Kapokale Weavers group in Manulondo Village, Ndona, Ende, early this month (March 2020). The smiling ladies are Mama Theresia (the head of the weaver’s group) and mama Nona, a member of the weaver’s cooperative. They are both such amazing ladies, with great knowledge.
We arrived here in Manulondo unannounced, and we received an amazing reception from both of these ladies. We stayed and chatted several hours into the morning, and got so much knowledge from them. They have amazing textiles and the way they process them, really worth the visit. With no language barrier, as Indonesian is my mother tongue, the conversations always flowing beautifully, creating true friendship.
Meeting the weavers in Indonesia is always a happy time. We learn so much from every meeting, trying to understand their everyday lives, their culture, their traditions, their struggles in life and build our relationship with them based on these issues.
Our journey to the weaving villages is not just about looking at pretty textiles or dream about creating textile tours that bring money but to understand how our world is actually interacting through culture and traditions. Indonesian Textiles culture has been loved by the world for hundreds of years and Indonesian textiles are collected by collectors and kept by museums because of the culture and ceremonial values behind them, and we would like this to be sustained and continued for thousands of more years for our future generations to enjoy and embrace. Let’s keep Indonesian ceremonial textile culture alive, both historically and with the current productions.
Let’s help Indonesian weavers to produce “Indonesian Ikat Textiles” with museum-quality for the future generation of Textile Collectors to enjoy. WE BELIEVE WE CAN!!
We plan a few more trips Social/Culture trip there in the future, once our earth free from Corona Virus epidemic. Check our updates in https://www.facebook.com/indonesiatextiletours, for future tours and useful information which might benefit you before you visit Indonesia.
I plan to organise tours, but I also provide support and guidance “free of charge” to those who wish to visit Indonesian Textile Regions (East Nusa Tenggara, West Nusa Tenggara, Lake Toba, South Sulawesi, West Sumatra, West Kalimantan/Borneo), feel free to contact me, I am happy to share my knowledge and experience with you. We are here to help if you need support.
