source
A woman who becomes pregnant will become a mother; a mother's services are immeasurable to a kid and cannot be replaced. Start with a mother who is nine months pregnant, gives birth, breastfeeds, and raises a child till it is an adult if one day a child is wealthy and accomplished but cannot afford a mother's care.
Maria Sanam is a mother who works every day as a weaver craftsman in the village of Nekemunifeto, Mollo Tengah District, South Central Timor Regency, NTT.
Maria Sanam continues the East Nusa Tenggara art of weaving natural colors by preserving ancestral culture (NTT). Maria Sanam encounters a number of challenges when processing the thread spools that eventually become a woven object.
source
In a meeting with the Indonesian Natural Color Association (Warlami), Maria Sanam was able to revive an ancient local practice known as natural-colored Ikat.
The use of natural colored thread is a difficult task. The threads must be oiled before being soaked in a variety of substances, including candlenut, dadap leaves, thistle leaves, simplokos, and noni root, to produce crimson threads. It can take a month to finish coloring.
One of Maria Sanam's occupations is weaving. Maria Sanam makes enough money from her weaving business to support her family through college.
source
The people of NTT, especially in South Central Timor, used to use natural colors for woven fabrics. Wastra is a traditional cloth in the form of woven, batik and all kinds of others. Not only is it produced in NTT, it is also produced worldwide with organic dyes.
Since she was in third grade in primary school, Maria has been working on woven ikat, a skill she picked up from her parents. Nonetheless, she uses synthetic dyes, much like the other weavers in her town, for practically as long as she weaves. Synthetic colored thread is readily available, reasonably priced, and quick to use, making it an acceptable option for weavers.
Yet, the introduction of VOCs and close commercial ties forced the local community to switch to synthetic dyes. Since the invention of synthetic dyes, people have abandoned natural colors in favor of the quicker, simpler, and less expensive synthetic alternatives.
source
Maria and the group of weavers in her village have been able to create a variety of high-quality woven fabrics since obtaining instruction from Warlami in August 2022. One woven ikat with chiseled designs in natural hues can be purchased for about IDR 3 million. Of the 30 artisans present, approximately 125 woven fabrics with an average selling price of IDR 325 million can be created annually. One of the weavers Warlami coached, Maria, claimed that she was able to support her family and pay for her son's education.