Jakarta, February 24, 2023 - Preserving ancestral culture is no easy feat. Behind the threads that become woven fabric, Maria Sanam has overcome numerous obstacles to keep the tradition of natural-dye ikat weaving alive in East Nusa Tenggara (NTT).
Maria Sanam is a 50-year-old weaver from Nekemunifeto village, Mollo Tengah district, South Central Timor Regency, NTT. Her encounter with the Indonesian Natural Dye Association (Perkumpulan Warna Alam Indonesia - Warlami) reintroduced her to the tradition of natural-dye ikat weaving, an ancient tradition in her region.
February 21, 2023 was the first time Maria set foot in Jakarta and outside the city. Let alone airplanes and hotels, the basic needs of electricity and internet are rare items that Maria has never experienced in her village. Despite all these limitations, Maria never gave up on making ikat weaving.
"When I first boarded the plane, I was very scared. I only hoped that God would help me arrive safely at my destination," she said during an interview at BCA Expoversary 2023, ICE BSD, Tangerang. "Weaving is one of my livelihoods, and it has helped me finance my children's education up to college," Maria said.
Maria has been weaving ikat since she was in the third grade, learning from her parents. However, most of the time, she used synthetic dyes, as did other weavers in her village. For weavers, using synthetic-colored threads was a logical choice because they were easy to access, cheap, and quick to process.
Warlami Secretary-General Suroso explained that initially, the people of NTT, especially South Central Timor, used natural dyes for ikat weaving. However, the arrival of the Dutch East India Company and intensive trade relations made the locals switch to synthetic dyes.
"Not only in NTT, but also in any place where there is fabric, which is adat cloth in the form of weaving, batik, and all kinds, they have used natural dyes since ancient times. But since the introduction of synthetic dyes during the Dutch East India Company's era, foreigners brought synthetic dye materials, and people switched to synthetic dyes, which were faster to use, easier, and cheaper, resulting in natural dyes being abandoned," Suroso said.
Using natural-colored threads is not an easy task. To obtain red threads, the threads must be smeared with oil and soaked in several ingredients such as candlenut, dadap leaves, widuri leaves, simplokos, and finally dyed with the roots of morinda. The coloring process can take up to a month.
Warlami, in collaboration with BCA, reintroduced the tradition of natural-dye ikat weaving to the weavers' community in Nekemunifeto village. Suroso added, "So natural dyes are not something new to them. Instead, we from Warlami are encouraging them to use the tradition and techniques that have always been there."
since receiving training from Warlami in August 2022, Maria and the weaving community in her village have been able to produce high-quality woven fabrics. One such fabric, a natural-colored ikat with a carved motif, can be sold for around IDR 3 million. With 30 weavers in the community, they can produce around 125 pieces of woven fabric per year, worth around IDR 325 million. Maria, who was trained by Warlami, said that she can now afford to send her child to college and support her family.
"I am very grateful to the Bakti BCA CSR program, which has helped me and other craftsmen to market our weaving products. This has helped the weaving craftsmen in Nekemunifeto Village to preserve our nation's weaving culture and help our economy," said Maria.
PT Bank Central Asia Tbk (BCA) as a company that cares about the preservation of Indonesia's noble culture is committed to supporting the development of natural-dye weavers in Nekemunifeto Village, East Nusa Tenggara. "Indonesian textile heritage deserves special attention," said BCA President Director Jahja Setiaatmadja.
Furthermore, Jahja expressed his happiness to invite Maria to the BCA Expoversary 2023 event at ICE BSD, Tangerang, from 23-26 February 2023 to introduce natural-dye ikat weaving culture to the wider community. Jahja stated, "BCA is delighted to help Ms. Maria and the crafting community in Nekemunifeto Village continue the tradition of natural-dye ikat weaving. In addition to preserving the tradition, what we are doing in East Nusa Tenggara can also help drive the local economy through high-value and environmentally friendly weaving products."
On the same occasion, Hera F Haryn, EVP Corporate Communication & Social Responsibility (CSR) BCA added, "We also want to use the BCA Expoversary 2023 moment to promote and educate customers and the public about Indonesia's beautiful cultural heritage."
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Tentang PT Bank Central Asia Tbk (per 31 Desember 2022)
BCA merupakan salah satu bank terkemuka di Indonesia yang fokus pada bisnis perbankan transaksi serta menyediakan fasilitas kredit dan solusi keuangan bagi segmen korporasi, komersial, UKM, dan konsumer. Pada akhir Desember 2022, BCA melayani lebih dari 34 juta rekening nasabah dan didukung oleh 1.247 kantor cabang, 18.268 ATM, serta layanan internet & mobile banking dan contact center Halo BCA yang dapat diakses 24 jam. Kehadiran BCA didukung oleh sejumlah entitas anak yang berfokus pada pembiayaan kendaraan, perbankan Syariah, sekuritas, asuransi umum dan jiwa, perbankan digital, pengiriman uang, dan pemodal ventura. BCA berkomitmen untuk membangun relasi jangka panjang dengan nasabah, mengutamakan kepentingan Bersama, dan menciptakan dampak positif pada masyarakat luas. Dengan sekitar 25.000 karyawan, visi BCA adalah untuk menjadi bank pilihan utama andalan masyarakat yang berperan sebagai pilar penting perekonomian Indonesia.
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