Feb 24 - Singapore

 
We flew from Denpasar, Bali to Singapore on Sunday afternoon. Since we had a 12 hour layover, we went on a city tour. 
 

Spectacular buildings, squeaky clean streets - a big contrast from Indonesia.

We are about to catch our flight to Tokyo and on to Los Angeles. After an eventful learning tour to Indonesia, everyone is eager to return home.  

Feb 24 - Blue Hand in Denpasar, Bali

On Sunday morning, Feb 24, our last day in Indonesia, we squeezed in our last artisan visit with Blue Hand in Denpasar, Bali. Aung Alit and Adi from Mitra Bali met us at our hotel with a bus and we headed out to find the Blue Hand location. After searching the neighborhood for a while we met Arnie and Tracy Cullipher of Blue Hand in one of the back alleys of Denpasar. Arnie, Tracy and Pak Jais gave us an informative tour of the Blue Hand batik sarong operation. Blue Hand works with the family business operated by Pak Jais to make the sarongs that Blue Hand sells to Ten Thousand Villages stores in the US. Pak Jais employs 14 people and Blue Hand is one of his customers. Arnie and Tracy spend several weeks each year in Denpasar and the rest of the year in North Carolina where their home and office are located. Sarongs are shipped to their North Carolina location and then shipped to their US customers from there. Ten Thousand Villages stores (mostly contract) are their largest customer. Other fair trade stores, like Global Gifts in Indiana, also buy from Blue Hand. Blue Hand has hired a full time employee in Denpasar, Khetut, who looks after orders and day-to-day affairs.

Pak Jais, Tracy and Arnie examining a piece of rayon cloth that will become a Blue Hand sarong. Khetut, Blue Hand's local employee, can be seen behind Arnie. 

Copper caps (pronounced 'chop') are used to print melted wax designs onto the batik cloth.

One of the workers in the Pak Jais workshop using a cap to print designs on a long piece of cloth.

Lots of experience and skill ensures that the cap printing is precise and looks good on the finished sarong.

Arnie and Pak Jais looking over a sampling of pieces that represent the process of making a batik sarong - from white rayon cloth to batiked and dyed final sarong.

Lengths of cloth that have just come out of the dye bath and waiting to be batiked.

In addition to batiking the cloth it is also scrunched up to produce a tie-dye effect.
 

Where do you think the Blue Hand name came from?

A worker at Pak Jais workshop showing off his blue hands. Pak Jais uses German dyes that are azo free and that do not harm the workers or their surrounding environment. All dyes are recaptured and reused until they are spent. After they are used up, the dyes are disposed of in a safe and proper way that meets all Indonesian government guidelines.

Scrunched up sarong cloth drying on the floor before going through the last washing and drying process.

Stretching a cloth on a long table to prepare it for batiking.

Arnie of Blue Hand is getting to know Agung and Adi of Mitra Bali. They had not met before our visit to Blue Hand and Agung and Adi were interested because Mitra Bali does not work with any batik artisans. It was a learning experience for them too. 

This was our last artisan visit in Indonesia. We climbed back into our bus, drove to the Denpasar airport, said goodbye to Agung and Adi, hefted our boatload of luggage (greatly expanded by our purchases from artisans), cleared customs and boarded our plane to Singapore. We enjoyed a very good time in Indonesia. We ate delicious and sometimes exotic food. We saw amazing craft processes and got to try making some crafts ourselves. Above all, we met many wonderfully warm and friendly people who openly shared their work and culture with us and eagerly wanted to know more about us. We are all going home with a greater appreciation for the Indonesian people and an even greater commitment to provide income to artisans in Indonesia by selling their crafts and telling their stories in North America.

I can't think of a better way to end our 2013 Ten Thousand Villages Indonesia Learning Tour blog than to repeat a few photos of our new found friends: 

Arifin and Pak Imam at Arifin's batik workshop and gallery near Jogja.

Christina accepting her batik painted mask from Mariati at her workshop near Jogja.

Agung and Dave comparing tatoos at Mitra Bali.

Amy and Christina enjoying green coconut at Kemiran's workshop at Bubung, Gunung Kidul southwest of Jogja.

Mustiah, Khetut, Basar, Rohmi and Ayu saying us off at the Lombok airport. 

Feb 23 - Lombok Pottery and back to Bali

On Friday afternoon, Feb 22, we boarded a boat to head out to Gili Island for the night. We stayed at a hotel called the Villa Ombak.

Wendy, Chris and Charlotte are negotiating the dock before clambering into our boat.

Alicia and Amy rode up front on the bow of the boat and reveled in the roller coaster ride provided by the ocean swells.

On Saturday morning we boarded our boat on Gili Island and motored back to Lombok for another day with Lombok Pottery.

We started out the day by visiting the Lombok Pottery office and showroom in Mataram.

  

On our nice blue bus with the Lombok Pottery folks: Novi, Ayu, Rohmi and Mustiah.

We stopped for lunch at Kuta Beach in southern Lombok. Rohmi and Ayu always seem to be in high spirits.

Kuta beach, near our lunch restaurant on Lombok.

After lunch we visited a traditional Sasak Village. Mud brick construction with thatched roofs. The building on the right is for rice storage. The Sasak people are indigenous to Lombok.

Interior of a Sasak house.

This Lombok pot has seen practical usage for a long, long time.

Christina and others in our group got to try their hand at Sasak weaving on one of our stops.

The Lombok Pottery center in Penujak village. They are proud of their World Fair Trade Organization membership and display it prominently at all of their offices and showrooms.

There are 176 potters in the Penujak Lombok Pottery co-op. Kadariah and Sumarni are two of the talented potters.

Kadariah is finishing the frog handle on a lid for a pot she is finishing.

Kadariah's pot is almost finished.

Kadariah's income from pottery making enables her family to send their children to a good school and means that they can improve their house and afford a better lifestyle.

Sumarni is pleased to be a member of the Lombok Pottery co-op in Penujak.

The pottery firing shed in Penujak. Ten Thousand Villages helped fund the building of this shed and 5 others for Lombok Pottery through our Artisan Development Fund.

 

Heaping rice straw on top of pots to be fired in order to keep the heat inside the primitive kiln that fires the pots.

 

Stoking the fire in the kiln.

Nearby, this woman was winnowing her rice in a bamboo tray. 

 

Our friendly and very competent quides while we were on Lombok: Mustiah, Khetut, Rohmi and Ayu of Lombok Pottery Centre and Basar (in back), our bus tour guide. We had a great time on Lombok, made good friends with Lombok Pottery people and we are sad to say goodbye. 

We flew on Garuda Airlines (Indonesian National Airline) from Lombok back to Bali on Saturday evening. 

Feb 22 - Lombok Pottery, Traditional Music, Dance and Food, Gili Island.

Senggigi Beach near our hotel.

Lombok Pottery folks met us at our hotel on Senggigi Beach at 9 am on Friday and we headed off in our bus to the town of Masbagik where a co-op of women potters works with Lombok Pottery. The co-op includes 69 women potters in Masbagik. 

Tourist boat at Senggigi beach, near our hotel.

We had a 1 hour bus ride from our hotel to Masbagik and encountered some traffic along the way. Look at the school boys hitching a ride home after school. They get out early on Friday to go to noon prayers at the local mosque. 

Pots at the Lombok Pottery showroom in Masbagik. Many of the reddish brown pots are colored with a spray of tamarind dye.

The mosque just across the street from the Lombok Pottery Centre in Masbagik - 90% of the people on Lombok are Muslim. Our big blue bus in parked on the right.

Some of the women at the Lombok Pottery Centre in Masbagik. T hey obviously enjoy working together and hosted us well.

Everyone was friendly, helpful and eager to learn more about us and to tell us about their work and their co-op of women potters. 

We walked about a block from the pottery centre to the home of Kutian to watch how she makes a large clay pot. Ahn, in the grey head covering, was our guide. 

 Alicia, Charlotte and Christina helped to mush up some clay in order to get it ready for the potter.

Kutian and Ahn discussing the fine points of the art of pottery making. Kutian obviously knew what she was doing.

Kutian adding finishing touches to her big clay pot.

Adding more detail to her pot.

Christina's feet were pretty muddy after stomping on the clay for a while. She's getting an official Masbagik foot-washing.

Kutian applying some etched patterns onto her pot with a plastic comb. She does not need a lot of sophisticated tools or equipment to make a beautiful pot.

Ahn took us over to the outdoor 'kiln' where Kutian and her firends fire their pots. Here is a piece just being lifted out of the fire.

Lush tropical greenery just a few steps away from the  Masbagik 'kiln' where the local Lombok Pottery members fire their pots.

A thick stand of bamboo provides a natural fence. The bamboo grow so closely together that it is impossible to make your way through.

Three of the Lombok Potters who were firing pots today. 

Masks off to reveal big happy smiles. 

Lombok pottery is not just made to be pretty for export. The pots are practical everyday vessels like this one at a well in Masbagik.

We drove back to Mataram for lunch and entertainment at the residence of Abdul Hamid. They had a traditional Lombok meal ready for us, several delicious courses, we all had to sit on the floor and eat with our hands. On top of that we were entertained by a small Gamelan orchestra and some dancers. 

A Gamelan orchestra member.

We were encouraged to join in the dancing. Charlotte is following along as Abdul Hamid leads. 

 Everyone was dressed up in fancy clothing for the music and dance.

Some of the dance moves were tough for us to follow.

Music and dance is one way to keep traditions and culture alive for the future.

 The people of Lombok are beautiful, talented people who are proud of their heritage. We were really honored and privileged to have a performance like this put on just for our tour group.