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An ikat collective that weaves memorable journeys

THE DIFFERENCE YOU MAKE

By shopping Watubo products, you support the development of Sikkanese ikat as a sustainable livelihood for Watublapi residents. To date, Watubo has worked with 25 weavers, most of whom are women under the age of 50, as well as a few men. 

Supporting demand for vegetable-dyed ikat also encourages weavers to stick with dyeing processes that are safe for people and the environment, and to conserve culturally important plants such as morinda and indigo.

Supporting ikat as a sustainable profession in Watublapi would encourage their young people to stay in the village and contribute to the community. A strong ikat business also encourages other collaborations, such as working with Watublapi graduates who have left the village but whose business skills and connections to the outside world can benefit weavers. 

You can find Watubo's original creations on Noesa's website. Look out also for ikat items made with fabrics from Watublapi by Noesa. 

Noesa can be contacted for further enquiries about Watubo via WhatsApp at +62 81315556670. 

Meet Rosvita of Watubo

Getting there

View location on map

Noesa's website

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).

Traveller's Notes

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.

Article contributors
Writer
Grace Tan-Johannes
Photography
Andra Fembriarto

Related topic

  • Indonesia
  • East Nusa Tenggara
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