Showcasing a traditional craft

Showcasing a traditional craft

Although the origins of kerawang are vague to most of its current
practitioners, Johnny Koraag is a name they all recognize.

He is, after all, the man whose designs can be found on almost
every piece of the threadwork produced in the last 25 years.

"In about 1982, I started to think about how to design for
kerawang because nobody was collecting the patterns and motifs,"
explained Johnny at his home in eastern Gorontalo City.

An artist by training, he considered new ways to use the
traditional motifs -- flowers, leaves, corn, fish, geometric
shapes -- including adapting them into more abstract or stylized
designs.

Johnny has gone it alone ever since, producing the designs
that are used by craftswomen across the province.

The common assumption is that kerawang is a Dutch colonial
legacy, yet the needlework may have arrived in the 17th century
with Spanish travelers from the Philippines, where they also
introduced embroidery (the Spaniards are also credited with
bringing corn and tomatoes, as well as the practice of the
siesta, which still survives today).

Johnny acknowledged there was greater development of the craft
during the Dutch colonial period in the 19th century, with the
needlework showing influences from particular types of whitework
-- the use of white thread on white fabric -- popular in Europe
during that period.

On its website, the Gorontalo regency government notes
kerawang's similarities with Schwalm embroidery, a form of
whitework from Germany using designs of flowers, fruit and
leaves, and Hardangersom, also called Hardanger, from Norway,
which uses more geometric figures.

The uniqueness of kerawang, along with the fact that there is
no hierarchical tradition about who can wear it and for what
occasion, would seem to make it a prime commodity to be showcased
by the young province.

There are plans to bring the threadwork to a wider audience,
including by recruiting Jakarta-based fashion designer Samuel
Wattimena to help in the development of designs.

"There has to be a greater concept, a master plan, covering
things like the supply of fabric, distribution to other
provinces, especially Jakarta," said Samuel, who said he visited
Gorontalo three times at his own expense before agreeing to
cooperate with the local government.

"We have to have new samples, embark on research and
development for new designs, but if there are mistakes in the
process, who will pay for it to be redone? Well, I can't do
that."

He added that while it was good for officials to move forward
with plans to promote kerawang, it could only be done in tandem
with improving the welfare of kerawang workers, most of them
women in small villages across the province.

Logistics, especially Gorontalo's distance from Jakarta,
presents another problem.

"I've talked to different businesspeople here, and it's always
a matter of cost. So why bother to bring the product here when
you can get embroidery from Tasikmalaya (West Java), even though
they are in fact very different crafts. To do it right, you'd
have to have twice the drive (as craftspeople based in Java)."

There is also the need to define prospective markets. Many
examples of kerawang, for example, use gold thread in the motifs
or as trimming on brightly colored synthetics, which might be too
garish for some tastes but to the liking of consumers in the
Middle East or Malaysia.

Similarly, the more traditional and quite exquisite whitework
found on tablecloths could also be used on napkins and other
household linen for European consumers.

Samuel acknowledged the potential for the threadwork's use in
Muslim fashion, but reiterated that he could not work miracles on
his own.

"It's a problem if there is exploitation without improving the
quality of the designs," he said. "It will take time, as well as
expertise and power .... You can't just fly in the designer in
from the capital and everything changes .... "

Batik designer Iwan Tirta believes any effort to bring greater
exposure to traditional textiles must be done with the assistance
of an expert in textiles.

"I knew of a Malaysian designer who went to a textile village
in Makassar and spent a whole year there in the 1970s, in the
middle of nowhere, teaching them what she knew," he said.

"Today, I'll be at an exhibition and see a piece, and I can
tell immediately that her influence is still there."

He noted that improving the quality of the finished product
and aiming for high-end consumers were vital for any export
plans, and local governments could learn from the example of
Thailand in promoting its textiles.

Despite the ambitious plans for kerawang, including bringing a
big-name fashion designer on board, Johnny Koraag is uneasy about
the future.

While he has been criticized by some for failing to transfer
his knowledge, he counters that he has heard all the promises
before.

"Well, nobody's really serious about it," he said. "You get
invited to the governor's mansion, but then nothing happens, even
though I've told them, 'Send me someone who's interested in
learning about the designs and I'll teach them for free.'

"My only worry is when I'm gone, there'll be nobody else to
carry it on."

-- Bruce Emond