Cherishing not only the accomplishment, but rather the process to empower women. We only started with zero weavers four years ago, now we are beyond grateful for being able to work with 500 amazing, talented weavers across 21 villages in Flores, Indonesia. It certainly wasn’t always easy, but with tenacity and hard work from a lot of great people, what we all hoped for seems possible to achieve.

We began our approach at Duntana village, Larantuka, East Flores. Back then, the women were hard to be convinced as they were pessimistic toward the future of weaving craftsmanship. Some already forgot how to weave, while the younger ones planned to chase their future in the city. However, there were several miracle workers, our senior weavers, helping us to lead the way through from the very beginning.

Yes, it was definitely not us alone to receive the credit for the number escalation. Some of our first weavers actively asked their friends to join as they have already felt the benefit themselves. That is why, we admire the weavers not only for their talented hands, but much for their relentless attempt to help us grow.

It is true that some women are more senior in age and more skillful in technique, but exclusivity is never in these humble women’s dictionary. Many weavers from wide range of ages have come along to join, as they felt warmly welcomed and being taught patiently. The senior ones have become the source of inspiration for others. Take Mama Rosa Ure Wotan as the example. Being taught to weave by her mother then, Mama Osa continues the tradition until today. She is young no longer, but still weaves eagerly. Her weaving activity starts early at dawn, then she goes to the farm, and weaves again before bed. The neighbors often ask her for help and she teaches them lightheartedly.

Mama Osa guiding our younger weaver to make Sobe.

Alongside our weavers, there are also people giving their best contribution to our growing process; our amazing field team who always put such tremendous work, and the stakeholders who also consistently give their precious support.

From zero to 500 weavers, we are grateful and humbled for the journey to empower women, but we aspire to be bigger than we are today. In the future, we hope that we can learn more, to empower more.