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Alfonsa Horeng is on a mission to inject new life into the traditional art of making tenun ikat in her hometown on Flores Island, in eastern Indonesia. Tenun ikat is a method of weaving that uses pre-dyed thread to create patterns. Through her weaving project, Lepo Lorun, Alfonsa is hoping to empower local women to turn weaving from something they do in their spare time into a skill they can rely on financially.

Born in Flores, East Nusa Tenggara, Alfonsa has been familiar with tenun ikat since she was growing up in the village of Nita. Like most young girls in the region, she was able to weave by the time she was 12 years old.

“Traditionally it is thought that women reach maturity when they are able to make tenun ikat,” Alfonsa said. “When a man proposes, he will bring you a horse and ivory, and in return, you give him high-quality tenun ikat.”

While the fabric is still worn daily by many people in Flores, modernization has gradually infiltrated the island’s traditional values, including how cloth is made and what people wear.

“People began to wear more practical clothing even though they often look ridiculous. For example, an old woman wearing the same outfit a teenager would wear, just doesn’t seem right,” Alfonsa said. “That was when I felt the need to do something to preserve the custom of tenun ikat. It was not totally dying out, but it was sort of going that way.”

Wishing to revive the century-old tradition, in 2003 Alfonsa gathered 14 women from her village and encouraged them to make high-quality tenun ikat in the traditional fashion. This is how Lepo Lorun was born.

“Unfortunately, modernization replaced the traditional ways of making tenun ikat. People use synthetic colors instead of natural dyes and buy thread from factories instead of making their own from scratch,” said Alfonsa, who studied agriculture in Surabaya and textiles and natural coloring in Yogyakarta.

“I wanted to develop what we already have without taking away the traditional values,” she said, adding that each village has its characteristic tenun ikat patterns that set them apart.

“They are either characters or symbols, often with the shapes of plants and animals, that tell the story and philosophy of the people of Flores,” she said.

That same year, the women’s work was showcased in Jakarta to rave reviews, especially from Japanese and Korean attendees who wanted to buy the pieces.

To deal with the new demand raised by the showcase, Alfonsa began mobilizing women from other villages to join Lepo Lorun. Today, the group has 13 workshops throughout Flores.

“The women, mostly mothers, were very enthusiastic because they could earn extra money for their families,” she said.

“However, I told them that our number one priority was to keep making tenun ikat, whether or not we had orders,” she said. “We don’t have to wait for orders to make tenun ikat. That way we always have it when people want it.”

According to Alfonsa, more and more foreign tourists are coming to the villages to watch the women weave.

“They come to learn the coloring process,” Alfonsa said. “We are so well known outside our home that we frequently travel overseas for exhibitions, lectures and other events. I am going to France next month to promote our tenun ikat.”

Alfonsa said she felt the need to share her knowledge with her customers so “they will not buy tenun ikat and know nothing about its history or philosophy.”

“Customers with little or no knowledge of tenun ikat will usually buy it simply because they like the colors. They can be easily fooled by vendors who tell them that a particular piece was made using natural coloring or that it was made with handmade threads,” she said. “I think is funny when I see customers who say ‘this one is better because it is thin, not heavy like that one,’ while it is actually the other way around.

“The philosophy behind thick tenun ikat is to protect women. If you wear thin material, the sun that shines from the east will penetrate to the west through your clothes and so the silhouette of your thighs will be visible. So by wearing thick tenun ikat, we are protecting ourselves.”

With tenun ikat becoming increasingly popular, including overseas, Alfonsa said it was important not to forget the artist behind the work.

“It is sad to hear people refer to them as artisans instead of maestros. The same goes for all maestros all over Indonesia who are labeled as artisans. Anyone with skills, be it in making tenun ikat, traditional musical instruments, should be called a maestro.

“People consider top designers who use our tenun ikat maestros, but view us as villagers who are doing great merely because our products are chosen and used by the designers.”

The women of Flores, Alfonsa said, are just like models but they showcase tenun ikat “on the catwalk of life” and many of them are maestros from the time they are very young until the day they die.