Labuan Bajo weaving promotion raises visibility but leaves key gaps unaddressed

Labuan Bajo — Indonesia’s drive to promote woven textiles has raised the profile of Manggarai cloth around Labuan Bajo, but recent analysis and reporting suggest that visibility alone has not secured the transmission of skills, materials and fair livelihoods for weavers.

A September 2023 commentary by local outlet Floresa, written by Elisabeth Hendrika Dinan, argues that promotional efforts over roughly the past decade have not been matched by robust strategies for preserving weaving knowledge or strengthening the economic ecosystem for artisans in Manggarai Raya, western Flores.

The government formalised its recognition of weaving by establishing 7 September as National Weaving Day through a presidential decree signed on 16 August 2021. Media reports and the Floresa article note that woven textiles are now a regular feature at exhibitions, fashion shows and official workplaces, and that government campaigns have sought to place weaving alongside batik as national cultural heritage.

Promotion is not the same as preservation

Dinan’s analysis focuses on weaving communities in Manggarai Raya, including areas connected to the tourism economy of Labuan Bajo. It states that the number of active weavers has declined over time, and that government-led promotion has not been accompanied by a sufficiently developed plan to regenerate the craft.

The article emphasises that weaving depends on an interconnected body of knowledge: production techniques, ceremonial practices, social relationships, and the specialised tools required to make the cloth. If any part of this chain erodes, continued sales to visitors may not ensure that the tradition itself survives.

Floresa highlights the Manggarai songke loom set known as Ewang Dedang, describing it as comprising 15 distinct tools, often inherited through families and relatives. The histories attached to these tools form part of the record of how weaving knowledge has passed between generations.

That system is described as vulnerable because specialist toolmakers are becoming scarce. Dinan cites field observations from 2018 in Cibal, Manggarai, which recorded seven toolmakers active at the time, all producing the same item, the jangka or weaving comb. Larger tools for the loom were reportedly no longer being produced, raising concerns about the future availability of traditional equipment.

The Floresa piece also notes constraints on suitable local wood. Species such as kukung and local tamarind have been used for larger loom components, but these materials are said to have become difficult to obtain. Replacement tools made from teak or mahogany are available, yet some weavers reportedly consider them less durable and potentially damaging to threads.

The economic system behind the cloth

For weaving to remain a living practice rather than a display for tourists, it must provide a viable livelihood. According to accounts collected by Floresa from eastern Cibal, prices paid for cloth can fail to cover the cost of thread and the labour involved. The article argues that fair pricing should account for the type of thread, cloth dimensions and the complexity of patterns, including distinctions between natural and synthetic dyes and between dense and simpler motifs.

Other reporting on National Weaving Day similarly frames weaving as both cultural heritage and an economic asset, noting campaigns to mobilise weaving as an industry and to support small and medium enterprises. However, these articles focus on promotion and general challenges rather than providing detailed evidence on how tourism and retail revenues are distributed among weavers, intermediaries and traders.

Dinan also identifies a knowledge gap between weaving families and wider institutions. Instruction is often confined to households already engaged in the craft, while schools and the broader community have limited access to local weaving knowledge. Research by outsiders may not be easily accessible to weavers or translated into practical support, according to the analysis.

These concerns intersect with Labuan Bajo’s visitor economy, where cultural experiences are promoted as part of tourism offerings. Other regional reporting shows that weaving studios from across East Nusa Tenggara were invited to showcase ikat at the 2023 ASEAN Summit in Labuan Bajo, with artisans describing their participation as a chance to promote local textiles and handicrafts to international delegates. Yet neither Floresa nor these reports provide detailed data on whether such events deliver sustained income at fair prices for individual weavers.

Designs, ownership and accountability

Floresa warns that traditional motifs from East Nusa Tenggara, particularly ikat patterns, face copying by industrial textile producers. It suggests that artisans’ willingness to share techniques and design knowledge can leave room for imitation without consent, with mass-produced items then sold cheaply in the same customary areas where the designs originated. This can weaken both the economic position of artisans and the collective cultural rights associated with the motifs.

Available reporting on National Weaving Day and weaving promotion indicates broad recognition of woven textiles as part of Indonesia’s cultural heritage and acknowledges challenges such as competition from cheaper products and the risk of traditional designs being replicated without adequate protection. However, these sources and Floresa’s analysis do not identify specific legal registrations or enforcement mechanisms currently safeguarding the Manggarai and wider East Nusa Tenggara motifs discussed, nor do they describe detailed tourism-revenue agreements for the communities concerned.

For Labuan Bajo and its surroundings, the practical test therefore goes beyond whether visitors can see or buy ikat and other cloth. Based on the issues raised by weavers and commentators, key questions include whether artisans can earn enough to continue weaving, whether younger people can learn the full practice, whether toolmakers and material suppliers can sustain their work, and whether communities can exercise meaningful authority over their designs.

Key facts

• National Weaving Day is observed on 7 September under a presidential decree issued in August 2021.
• Floresa’s 2023 analysis reports a 2018 observation in Cibal recording seven loom-tool makers, all producing the jangka weaving comb.
• The Manggarai Ewang Dedang loom set is described by Floresa as having 15 distinct tools, often inherited across families.

Sources

• Floresa
• Liputan6
• Media Indonesia
• Wikipedia Bahasa Indonesia – Tenun
• NTT Media Express