When we talk about women, we talk about their existence and struggles. When the representation of women's voices is minimum or even non-existent, it tends to be considered normal, and nothing matters. If women continue to be silent then nothing will change, therefore women must speak up and put off all fears to tell their stories and experiences.

As revealed by some participants in the women’s group Kawara Panamung woven cloth in the village of Tanatuku, various problems happen in their household,  covering domestic violence, the denial of existence as a wife or family member, or excluded to involve in decision making. So what have they been doing all this time? Silence is their choice for the sake of retaining the problem and avoiding violence.

Such phenomenas must be fought for, women need to speak up and express what they feel to get equal rights. The existence of this women's group may become a place for them to share. For this reason, even in the middle of the weaving process, the multiplicator of the Stube-HEMAT through women empowerment program invited the women group to take time to share their stories, continue discussing the contents of the book by Rachmi Larasati and Ratna Noviani entitled Crossing the Differences of Women's Voices, Agencies, and Politics of Solidarity (16/10/2021). This book focuses on the ideas of women thinkers where women can freely share their experiences and thoughts, and the spectrum of women's thoughts on social, cultural, economic, and political problems that tend to be less heard, less well known, and also poorly understood for their positionality in the cartography of academic thought.

The first topics discussed consumerism, true prosperity, and sustainable lifestyles by Juliet B. Schor, a critical female thinker from the United States who is concerned with the impact of consumer behavior, social inequality, and gender inequality. The thing as a most debated topic by participants was to differentiate between what was a need and what was a want. Like most people, buying something is not just buying its function but also consuming a sign as a social differentiator that leads to a symbol of success. Some say that they buy something just because their neighbors have it so they buy it too. Some say that they are tempted to buy even though it is not what is needed. Juliet B. Schor reveals that the over-consumption act is the source of waste, debt, alienation of commodities, and so on.

The multiplicator shared several practical steps from Juliet B. Schor to the participants to open their mindset, insight, and understanding, namely the right to a decent standard of living, understanding the difference between needs and wants, prioritizing quality of life than the number of goods. From that explanation, all participants learned to change their consumptive behaviors. At the next meeting, they will get new enlightenment on other topics and will learn more about how to fight for their rights as women.***

The economic resources owned by the household do not only demand the role of men as the head of the family but also the involvement of women to play a role in supporting the economic resilience of the family. This condition motivates women to have skills. Involving women through empowerment by enhancing the skills of existing resources is very important. Making woven cloth from East Sumba is not only thinking about how to preserve culture but also efforts to empower women. The existing human resources must always be improved so that they can produce competitive weaving works in the market. It is time for weavers to appreciate the work they do after following every process. From the beginning to the end of the manufacturing process, plant materials from nature that can be cultivated and are environmentally friendly are used while paying attention to the design of the woven motif.

In the spare time for winding the yarn activity, the multiplicator invited the members to discuss a book entitled 'Karya Adiluhung' which reveals the spirituality and symbolism behind the art of tied weaving with natural dyes in East Sumba (2/10/2021). The book reveals many things related to the tied weaving of East Sumba which turns out to have other potencies, namely as a foundation as well as a driver of sustainable economic growth. As a first step, they explored the 42 steps of weaving because they happened to be in the early stages of winding yarn to make a piece of cloth. They need to know more about the weaving stages they may go through.

Elisabeth Uru Ndaya explained that the book contains 6 major topics that cover the 42 steps in weaving, such as the first, explaining spinning cotton into yarn and winding it. Second, pamening, a series of activities to prepare the warp (threads that have been arranged into a canvas to be tied). Third, design a motif painting on the fabric. Fourth, yarns-coloring. Fifth preparing the weaving process, and finally the weaving process until the completion stage.

Some of them were surprised to learn so many steps, even though they had already gone through it. In theory, they felt difficult to follow the weaving steps and work on. However, when they recalled the process that has been going on for a year, it did not reduce their motivation to continue the process. They believe that every hard work they do will pay off. Adrina Ipa Hoi, one of the young participants in the weaving group said, “It turns out that weaving is not easy, we don't realize that so far we have gone through those 42 stages, and for me, there are only about 30 steps that I believe I can do, the rest still I have to learn more. Fortunately, this book helps us to know which steps we have and have not understood.”

However difficult the process is, the skill of making tied weaving has been proven to produce artworks that are recognized worldwide. Weaving collectors in various parts of the world even treat the Sumba tied weaving collection as a masterpiece. Weaving has now become one of the works that can support the economic life of the family. It's time for the weaving artists and Sumba women to respect these skills by continuing to pursue weaving skills so that they can be internationally competitive. ***