A craftswoman Fiddawati, 53, has demonstrated the making of Pandai Sikek woven fabric, using traditional weaving tool called "panta", in the Indonesia Pavilion venue on Thursday.
The exhibition is held in parallel with the IMF-WB annual meetings on October 8-14.
"What makes the Pandai Sikek songket woven fabric special is its making process that needs precision. The cloth uses golden, silver and bronze yarns and it will take up to four months to finish a piece of cloth," Fiddawati said, adding that it will depend on the design and size.
The more complicated the design, the longer it can be finished and the price will certainly be more expensive, she continued.
Fiddawati learned to make woven cloth since she was a kid, taught by her mother and grandmother. The weaving skill is only descended to daughters of Pandai Sikek women.
The craftswoman has been under the guidance of Mandiri Bank and has already had a store in Central Jakarta. She has exported the products to Malaysia and some European countries.
A piece of songket woven cloth is sold at Rp6 million to Rp12 million, depending on the designs and sizes.
According to Fiddawati, the woven fabric has attracted African delegates especially those with "Bacatue" design of flowers.
She hoped that the Indonesia Pavilion event would promote the traditional cloth, and open the chance for her and other craftswomen to expand their export markets.
West Sumatra is known as one of the Indonesian provinces, which is immensely rich in traditional female costumes.
The provincial government had ever identified 800 types of Minangkabau traditional female costumes.
Reporting by Ida Nurcahyani
Editing by Sri Haryati/Rahmad Nasution
Reporter: Antara
Editor: Gusti Nur Cahya Aryani
Copyright © ANTARA 2018
