TORAJAMELO

THE BACKGROUND

TORAJAMELO (TM) which means Beautiful Toraja aims to rejuvenate Sa’dan Toraja weaving while improving the weavers’ life by designing, producing and marketing high quality products made of the Toraja weaving.

Toraja is in the middle of Sulawesi island, Indonesia. It is believed that the indigenous people of Toraja have been using the wooden back-strapped loom for thousands of years. The techniques are varied, ranging from simple plain weave to the near-extinct warp floats to the already extinct tablet weaving.  The diminishing weaving tradition is mainly caused by the fact that Torajanese do not wear their own weaving in their daily life (unlike i.e. the people of Flores and Sumba). Another factor is the drop of tourist arrival- who used to buy the textile as souvenir- since the financial crisis in 1998 and the subsequent Bali bombing and Poso riots.  

Many young women then seek other means of living or leave their village.  The older women who stay weave in their spare time in between taking care of their grand children, tilling the land or feeding their pigs. These facts cause the weaving knowledge to rapidly diminish, as it is typically passed down from one generation to the next. Additionally, as the weaving is not highly respected compared to manufactured fabric and it is only done in their spare time, the income of the weavers is small.

As one of the Indonesian intangible heritage, it is important to preserve the existing and relearn the extinct motifs and techniques of Toraja weaving, while improving the weavers’ welfare by giving higher respect and value to their artistic skills. TM believes that the company is sustainable by marketing creative designs to the middle-upper class market in Indonesia and abroad.

THE COMPANY

TORAJAMELO started with weaving culture assessment in Sa’dan Toraja in 2008 and was formally established in 2010 as a social enterprise.  The main goal is to take Toraja weaving into the daily life.

Dinny Jusuf is married to a Torajanese man and initiated the company out of her concern about the dying weaving culture.  Dinny has worked as a banker, owner of a training consultancy business and Secretary General of the Indonesian National Commission on Anti Violence Against Women.  In 1998 Dinny co-founded Suara Ibu Peduli(The Voice of Concerned Mothers), an association of poor urban women, which runs education and micro-finance programs.

Nina Jusuf has a Fashion Design degree from the Academy of Art University in San Francisco.  Nina has been involved in Domestic Violence issues since 1992 and was the Executive Director of San Francisco Women Against Rape. Nina co-founded the National Organization of Asian Pacific Islanders Ending Sexual Violence USA.  As a Capacitar International trainer, Nina facilitates sustaining activism workshops for Women Human Rights Defenders and NGO staff in the US, Indonesia and other countries.

In their joined quest for a better life for women, Dinny as CEO is in charge of Finance, Fund Raising and Marketing, while Nina as COO takes care of Design, Production and Management.   

THE BUSINESS MODEL

The business model is based on the principle of Community, Quality and Compassion. In the race against time, because the weavers are mostly elderly women, TM buys whatever weaving they have. It is made of polyester cotton, which is fortunate, because being handwoven, it is a colorful and durable material for TM bags and sandals. Thus, TM strategically focuses on i) design, ii) adding substantial value to the product and iii) branding and marketing in Jakarta and since 2011 in Japan (Tokyo, Hiroshima, Kyoto).

Community: in Toraja, TM works with the weaving community, to ensure that the textile is suited the city people’s taste, i.e. colors, motifs, etc. TM also applies a mini fair trade system, whereby TM pays higher than other buyers and pays more for complicated motifs. In Jakarta TM starts marketing to people who appreciate high quality Indonesian products.  Then to widen the market, in addition to attending trade fairs and bazaars, social media and department stores sales, TM also gives presentations and works with communities, i.e. Indonesian Heritage Society (Indonesian culture lovers), Extra L (extra large women who campaign about self confidence, health, etc.), Srikandi (wives of expatriates who campaign for the rights of their children), etc.

Quality: in Jakarta TM produces high quality, limited edition, hand-made products; while trying to maintain quality service to our mostly ‘beyond Gucci & Prada’ customers, who appreciate quality products of Indonesia.

Compassion: TM started the business out of compassion to the weavers, who are all women.  In Jakarta to make the end products, TM collaborates with several workshops whose workers are mostly women.  TM shares the compassion about the weavers’ welfare and the survival of Toraja weaving with the clients.

PLEASE CONTACT US:

www.TorajaMelo.com

email: info@TorajaMelo.com

Facebook & Twitter: TorajaMelo

phone: + 62 87 888 772 196