Artisans

Weaving cooperatives in Nusa Tenggara Timur

Weavers from the Province of Nusa Tenggara Timur in Indonesia are true artisans. Batik, ikat or the unique buna technique: women from small villages on the different islands can do it all.

Counting Flowers offers beautiful handwoven scarves from the following weavers and weaving cooperatives:

Usaha Baru (‘New Company’) is a weaving cooperative in the village of Oemasi on West Timor Island. The group was established nine years ago. Seventeen women organised themselves to increase the sales of their handwoven scarves. Mama Martha heads the cooperative.

The scarves are woven from cotton the women grow themselves or buy at the local market. The scarves are distinct because they are woven in a circle, without a beginning or ending. Parts of the patterns in the scarves are woven in ikat technique.

The Hidup Baru (‘New Life’) cooperative consists of twenty women from the village of Insana, also on the island of West Timor. These women are specialised in the very complex and labour-intensive buna technique.

Only a master weaver can make scarves using the buna technique, knotting silk yarn around the warp. It takes the weaver months to finalise a scarf or sarong.

Local people wear buna scarves and sarongs at special occasions like weddings. Sometimes the women from Hidup Baru receive requests for a buna product from other villages.

Some women from the cooperative are specialised in the famous ikat technique. They weave ikat productsfrom homegrown cotton. They colour the cotton with natural dye made from leaves and tree roots they find around the village.

Counting Flowers furthermore has found some bright coloured ikat scarves from Oin Lassi and Soe on West Timor. The scarves are handwoven from cotton in the traditional patterns of the centre of the island.

Last but not least, Counting Flowers offers a beautiful traditional scarf from Sabu Island. The scarf is handwoven from homegrown cotton and coloured with natural dye. The ikat pattern of this scarf is unique for Sabu.

Take a look at the scarves from Indonesia.

Women from Hidup Baru weaving

Ladies from Usaha Baru

Mama Martha checks the scarves