Indonesia's Indigenous Textiles
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Come explore and enjoy a presentation by Jean Howe and William Ingram, co-founders of Threads of Life, an Indonesian social enterprise since 1998, on how to sustain Indonesia's indigenous textile traditions in the 21st century. Threads of Life works directly with over 1000 women weavers in more than 35 groups on 12 Indonesian islands to build livelihoods, empower women, revitalize indigenous culture, and conserve dye plant ecologies. Their textile and basket products can be seen on their website and in retail galleries in Bali.
After meeting in Tokyo and living in Japan for 5 years, Jean Howe and William Ingram moved to Bali in 1993 and started leading cultural tours to weaving communities through the 1990s. During the Southeast Asian economic crisis of 1998, they started Threads of Life to support textile culture, address the poverty caused by the economic crisis, and to facilitate the continuation of natural dye traditions. The organization has grown to employ 40 people, with Jean developing a deep knowledge of Indonesia’s textile heritage and William exploring the natural dye arts and dye plant cultivation.
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