An ikat collective that weaves memorable journeys

Watublapi is a 45-minute drive from Maumere, the largest city in Sikka regency.

Maumere’s Frans Seda Airport is 18km away, and has incoming flights from Denpasar (Bali), Labuan Bajo (West Flores), Kupang (West Timor) and Waingapu (East Sumba).

For Watubo weavers, ikat is as much an ancestral devotion as it is a profession. Supporting weavers’ livelihoods through contemporary iterations of the craft can provide resources and renew weavers’ interest in the traditional form.

Counterfeit ikat is unfortunately common, made in factories in Java. These factories mass-produce either mechanically woven or printed fabrics bearing ikat motifs from all over Indonesia, and sell them at a fraction of prices of original pieces. Rosvita calls this a desecration of cultural ancestry, stolen for profit.

Travellers to Sikka can observe the prominence of ikat motifs at places of interest, which were pointed out to me by Watubo during our guided tour. For example, ikat is painted onto sacred buildings, such as church interiors and on the footstool of Mary, Mother of  AllNations.

As is the case in many parts in rural Eastern Indonesia, Watubo weavers appreciate gifts of areca nuts (pinang), betel peppers (sirih) and ground limestone (kapur). Easily bought in local wet markets, a few dollars’ worth of sirih-pinang makes an effective icebreaker.