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