Kubu Raya, KALIMANTAN BARAT. HALIMAH sat cross-legged while arranging the perupuk leaves. Her sitting position is never long because she often shuffles. Two women on her right and left often questioned her and asked her to correct their work.
“Wrong, here! What has happened? There are four eyes (crossed leaves), while the only three. This is not balanced (the shape is not proportional),” said Halimah, correcting the work of Desi, who was sitting on her left side.
The 60-year-old woman painstakingly guided Desi to fix the shape of the weave. Because her mistake was fatal, Desi's work was finally dismantled and restarted from scratch.
"If you never get it wrong, not learning the name. This is my first time weaving,” said Desi with a laugh.
This mistake made Desi even more curious. After hours, the 34-year-old mother managed to finish the weaving until it became a basket.
"It's a bit difficult for those of us who are not used to weaving. It's not quite right (advanced),” said Herlinda, 43, a woman who sits in the same row as Halimah.
Halimah completes the weaving and teaches the skills to young women in Maju Bersama Hamlet, Kalibandung Village, Sungairaya District, Kubu Raya Regency, West Kalimantan. They have to complete about 400 baskets ordered by a customer from Pontianak.
Read the full story in bahasa Indonesia on the Ekuatorial website.