A piece of woven textile, part of Rasa Wastra Indonesia exhibition (Photo credit: Rasa Wastra Indonesia)

Monique Hardjoko, is the founder of Rasa Wastra Indonesia. She first fell in love with Indonesian textiles when she saw her friend wearing handwoven textile from East Nusa Tenggara. She was curious, learn and share it with her friends. She then founded Rasa Wastra to bring people together to share their love for Indonesian textiles and also to bring people along her learning journey to show that learning about textiles is not as complicated as people think

In this episode of aNERDspective (our NERD talk show where we converse with amazing friends about their textile adventure and perspectives), we talked to Monique about building this textile community and how to keep learning and sharing about textiles simple.

Note: This transcript has been edited for reading format.

Tony Sugiarta: Welcome Monique to today’s episode of aNERDspective. How are you doing?

Monique Hardjoko: I am good. I am great, as usual.

We see from your Instagram that you are very active in promoting Indonesian culture, especially textiles. It seems that there is a similar story and I can’t wait to find out more about your journey and perhaps collaborate together. So, we can start with a little introduction about yourself and how you first encountered textiles and fell in love with it?

I am Monique, a mom of two. I do not only love Indonesian culture, but also sports. Actually, I am a certified personal trainer as well. I always say, olah rasa and olah raga (ed.: to train how to feel and to workout), so it is a balanced life. Talking about rasa, that is why I love Indonesian textiles, especially handmade ones, like handwoven, batik, jumputan, lurik, and songket. There are so many Indonesian handmade textiles.

Why do I love Indonesian textiles? Actually, I just started to love it  back in 2016, about five years ago. It started when I saw my friend wearing one handwoven from East Nusa Tenggara, it was a buna kerawang, in shocking blue colour. I was just wow-ed and wondering what it was. I am very boyish and never thought (liking) anything related to textiles, batik, handwoven, none of those things. I do not know, but when I saw my friend wearing the handwoven, I just started falling in love.

Since then, I have learned and am very curious about Indonesian textiles. Until today, it is a learning process. I never claim myself as an expert or master of Indonesian textiles, but I am an activist, an endorser, and also an enthusiast. I cannot say I am a collector because a collector should be something that is premium. I am just an enthusiast who loves Indonesian textiles. It is part of my life now. I think it is just as simple as that when I started to fall in love with this fabric.

Why Indonesian textiles? Because during my journey in learning Indonesian textiles, of course, it is not just beautiful in terms of colours and patterns, but also we can learn many things about Indonesia from that piece of cloth. It is not just a piece of cloth, but also the history. It (ed.: the history) is kind of heavy, but they put in the feeling, the process, journey and story of the weavers and batik crafters. I think it is beyond the piece of cloth. So, I thought that I can learn so much about Indonesia from a piece of cloth.

Again, it is still in the process because it is a learning journey. I could be wrong, I could get wrong information from so many sources, but I keep learning to know more and more about Indonesian textiles, especially because I do not want to make it complicated when learning about Indonesian textiles.

At the end of the day, I thought that it is very simple to understand the meaning of our Indonesian textiles. The value and story about the textiles itself is actually talking about Indonesia. It is talking about values, our character, and the Indonesian journey from our ancient past up to now. It is also talking about our Pancasila (ed.: Indonesian ideology) and all about life and humanity. I think that that is the beauty of learning Indonesian textiles because, I always say, it is a reminder for me, a refresher and it makes me prouder about Indonesia. We are so damn rich! Those feelings.

With these textiles, it can be adopted by everybody because this is something that we wear everyday. Of course, that is the mission, how to make the textiles to be worn everyday. It is as simple as that. It is a very simple journey.

Very interesting that you commented on the simplicity of olah rasa (to feel) and all the meaning behind it. What do you think makes it complicated for people to understand and to appreciate?

I think it is about how you want to learn and from which source. When talking about Indonesian textiles, most people think about Indonesian history and that you should be an archeologist, or a cultural practitioner, or someone who is really an expert and a master. Actually, that is an assumption which makes everybody reluctant to learn.

Again, I am still learning until now. I see that we do not have to be an expert or a master or study about culture to understand Indonesian textiles, but it is as simple as to understand the summary of the meaning of the motif itself. No need to be complicated, to know all the details, the history, the colours, etc. We can sum up the meaning of the motif and the colours, and it becomes very simple.

It is also about the process. I think why we appreciate it less because now everybody is talking about Indonesian textiles. There are so many communities and so many social media movements talking about textiles. But that’s it. I still believe that most of them do not understand how to really differentiate our textiles, which is the original and what is not, the process behind it, also the story about the weavers and the crafters.

I believe that learning about Indonesian textiles is not just about wearing, looking at it and finding information on websites or books, but it is also about interaction. From my journey and my learning process, I found that human interaction is much more important. It is a process, of course, but we can make it less complicated. Do not expect that we have to be an expert on Indonesian textiles because if we can understand the meaning and the process correctly, I think everybody could be an activist and an enthusiast. That is my perspective.

If we can understand the meaning and the process correctly, I think everybody could be an activist and an enthusiast.

Definitely, we as humans tend to overcomplicate things. There must be a starting point for people to come in.

Yes, right, but it is quite simple. I get this from my own learning, I found that it is quite simple, from the meaning and the story. Actually, there is a common thread between all Indonesian textiles from Sabang to Merauke. Basically, they have the same meaning and the same story which is about Indonesia’s values, characters, habits, and so on. It is not that complicated.

One of the initiatives for you to have this interaction is through Rasa Wastra. Maybe you can introduce a little bit more about Rasa Wastra.

Rasa Wastra is an unexpected thing because this is my passion and I like Indonesian textiles. I am quite narcissistic to show my collection wearing Indonesian textiles everyday. Suddenly, most of my friends said that I have a good sense and really consistent about that, so they ask: why don’t you spread it to people?

I thought that this is a great one because everybody can start a journey like me, someone who is not a cultural practitioner or someone who is an expert but can fall in love with Indonesian textiles. I thought that I can spread the same feeling and journey to everybody.

I am not talking only about the cultural community, not only the one who loves Indonesian textiles, but to everybody, across communities and people. I believe, like me, everybody can be an activist. So, that is why I think I should create and initiate something and it is Rasa Wastra.

Basically, Rasa Wastra is a connector and community. We do not have members, we are independent and we collaborate with everybody. Our journey is from hulu to hilir (upstream to downstream) and there are so many stakeholders along the journey. So, we can collaborate and connect with all of them. That is also the learning point.

In Rasa Wastra, as I said earlier, I want to make people (i.e. everybody), not just the culture community or someone who loves Indonesian textiles, to have the same journey like I experienced. So, it is a very simple place for everybody to put their ideas, their initiatives, and anything related to Indonesian textiles and we try to accommodate them. That is why I work with so many stakeholders, not just the weavers or the crafters, but also the resellers, designers, experts, someone like you (i.e. Tony and aNERDgallery), and everybody who loves Indonesian textiles. I even work with some universities, young and creative communities. It is not particularly talking about Indonesian textiles, but talking about Indonesia, to be proud of Indonesia. So, that is what we did. It is not something fancy because I do not want to be very fancy. It is just down to earth and it is as simple as Indonesian textiles, beautiful and simply gorgeous, that’s it! That is when I started Rasa Wastra.

What does Rasa Wastra mean?

Rasa is connected with taste, but for me, I always love the word rasa because the meaning is beyond the taste. It is also talking about feeling, love, attention, etc. Again, I do not want to become very fancy but just something simple as this. If you want to understand Indonesian textiles, it should be from your heart.

Rasa is something that I believe is more engaging rather than just learning. I am not an expert in Indonesian textiles, I am just an activist, an endorser. Everybody does not have the opportunity to become an expert, but everybody definitely has the opportunity to become an endorser or a promoter. So, this belongs to all. That is why I put Rasa Wastra as the name.

About the symbol, if you see our symbol, it is an abstract pattern of one of the motifs from Tenun Sabu from East Nusa Tenggara. It comes from the Hubu Iki community. Basically, the meaning of those symbols in Bahasa is bunga palem (ed.: small palm flower) and it is about the journey of life and the ideas of every woman in Sabu island. I was inspired by their journey on how to become a woman that you can be independent and also become a support of a family. That has also become my spirit to run this initiative. Learning about Indonesian textiles is about a journey and a never ending learning.

I like it that you are actually bringing people along on your learning journey, because it is something that is relatable. As you mentioned, everyone will start somewhere. So, bring them along and show them that you do not need to be an expert or you do not need to be in that profession of a deep history to be able to appreciate Indonesian textiles. It is something that is related to a lot of people. 

You also mentioned about mengolah rasa (to feel), as we always translate it to English as a taste, but in Indonesia it is about feeling. It has a lot of different emotions and engagement. 

How did Rasa Wastra first start? Through social media, or just a meet up, or how? 

Social media, of course. We created a social media platform for Rasa Wastra Indonesia and then we opened our first pop-up gallery. So, actually we have a pop-up gallery, it is a mobile gallery which we can move from one to another place. The first gallery is an education gallery, it is in Petak Enam, Grogol, West Jakarta. It is a very fantastic place to learn about Indonesia. We put a very small pop-up gallery there and then we did a bazaar last December 2020. We invited our partners, weavers, local designers, and crafters, and at that time we were still in a pandemic situation. Actually, I have liked Indonesian textiles since 2016, but I initiated Rasa Wastra just in December last year.

That is pretty recent.

We had a pop-up gallery in Petak Enam and we did a bazaar with other tenants. We did a sharing session, a fashion show, a photo shoot, all those mix and match activities to gather the communities.

It is not just cultural communities or Indonesian textiles communities, but we invited so many communities. One of the communities is the sports community. We have so many sports and most of the sport activists are women. So, they love to look beautiful using textiles and basically they can love Indonesian textiles too. Everybody can love Indonesian textiles, even a group of people, individuals, gangs, and everybody. We shared with everybody to understand and see the beauty of Indonesian textiles.

Some of the Rasa Wastra collection is handwoven from Sabang to Merauke, so we have Aceh, Jambi, etc, to represent each island. They can see how beautiful and how rich Indonesia is. Surprisingly, I could say, 70% of them just knew about it, like batik Jambi, Sintang from West Kalimantan, Sumba, etc.

We also have a gallery in Jogja, we put it in Selasar, Malioboro. We have a pop-up store there and we are also connecting with some communities in Jogja, Solo, Semarang, and around those areas. In Jogja, of course, most of them are just familiar with batik and lurik. I am very happy to introduce them to the handwoven from East Nusa Tenggara like Sikka, Sumba, Rote, and even some names that they do not know.

Now we also have a pop-up gallery in Jagakarsa in Jakarta. Since we are still in PPKM (public activity restriction), we stop our gallery and we will start hopefully soonest in September in different places. Basically, we grow organically. I do believe that if you are really passionate about something, whether there is a spotlight or not, whether there is media exposure or not, you can keep it up. You do not need people to recognise you and say that you are big, but I believe when my friend said to just do small actions with a big heart.

Very encouraging as you mentioned there are 70% (of the people who) only learnt for the first time. To draw that crowd is very amazing. 

Yes, hundreds of people are coming. I do not have any huge expectations, but to see everybody is like remembering my journey when I was first introduced to Indonesian textiles.

Bringing back those memories of the initial excitement.

Yes.

This gallery is more of like a showcase or you do sell stuff as well?

The objective is more to showcase, but of course some of our crafters put their stuff there.

Earlier, I was thinking that I can be a reseller, but along the way I think I do not need to be a reseller. That is why I decided Rasa Wastra is focusing on education, awareness, promotion, and connecting the consumers to our partners, weavers, and batik crafters. So, if they like the products, we can just give them the contact of our partners and they can directly go to our partners and adopt or buy the products. I just want to make everybody clearly understand the values of the product.

Without offending everybody, sometimes, if the product is already sold through many layers, like from resellers or some other places, sometimes, the price increases. Of course, because of the operations and so on. I want people to understand that our Indonesian textiles are not that expensive. They can adopt it directly from weavers or respective credible galleries that really care about the weavers, not just business. Yes, business is fine, making margin is fine, but the most important thing is to help the weavers and the crafters. So, that is what I encourage. Mostly as a showcase and then put any creations from our weavers or crafters.

Other than a physical gallery, what other activities do you do?

We have four pillars in our programs. The first pillar is Ruang Rasa Kumpul, we do hybrid but now mostly is still in virtual. Basically, Ruang Rasa Kumpul is an intimate gathering, not just a community, but a group of people. We also invited some of the USA Embassy and Australian Embassy friends, just together like ten to twelve people to talk about Indonesian textiles – batik or tenun from Sumba or Sintang (Sintang is a regency of West Kalimantan province of Indonesia), anything.

For instance, the last time, we talked about Kalimantan. I put all the collections of Indonesian textiles from Kalimantan from the most affordable ones to the most expensive to give them an understanding about why this is affordable and why this is expensive, the process, etc. Then we do a photoshoot and a fashion show together, to have fun with Indonesian textiles, mix and match. But prior to those fun things, I do simple sharing about our Indonesian textiles.

Then (we have) Ruang Rasa Belajar, where we involve stakeholders related to this industry. Mostly I invite someone like yourself, designers, the weavers, the batik crafters, community, students, experts, budayawan (ed.: cultural practitioner), archaeologists, etc. I am still learning, so that is why I have to invite them and then learn together and share. It is also a virtual session now but before PPKM, we did a hybrid. We invited ten to fifteen (people) and did it virtually through Instagram or Zoom.

Next is Ruang Rasa Pamer Kreasi, which is a gallery, but it is not just Rasa Wastra’s collection. So everybody who has many collections can put their collection in our gallery and then they can tell the story of their journey and when they start loving Indonesian textiles, and then they can present it virtually and then also offline. So Ruang Rasa Pamer Kreasi also belongs to everybody. Also when we collaborate with local designers, for instance, we can do pamer kreasi of their new products or their new activity.

I am also active in promoting up-cycle, recycling, and also mentoring about how to create things from Indonesian textiles. For example, you have a preloved fashion product and then you can cut it everywhere and then just put Indonesian textiles on it. For example, how to create something like home decor or accessories or anything from Indonesian textiles. So basically it is a fun activity in Pamer Kreasi.

The other is Ruang Rasa Kasih since we are also part of the social movement. I do not like to put any social programs on social media. However, up until now, we already donated to some schools in Bali and East Nusa Tenggara and then also helped some of the weavers with live shopping in which some of the margin goes up to helping their children or at schools, church, mosque, and other things that they really need our help. If we get sponsors from a brand or cooperation, we also give to a charity or our weaver’s family. We can do it virtually, so there is no issue during the pandemic. The challenge is how to be creative and then stay productive.

You mentioned you started actively on Rasa Wastra last December and now it is about August, coming into September, then it is pretty amazing what you have.

How is the response so far? Who are your audiences?

As we can collaborate with everybody, currently I work with some of the universities – LSPR, UI, UNJ, Brawijaya University – and so many young communities as well, like Remaja Nusantara, Remaja Berkain, those kinds of community or social movement.

We also work with some corporations. Some of the corporations have the CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) program, focusing on Indonesian culture. So we help them to create some of the activities, like talkshow, sharing, charity, live shopping to help our weavers or crafters.

We are not just collaborating with the cultural community, that is why there are so many people who know and become our fans. For instance, my friends in sports communities. They are also actively promoting Indonesian textiles now. I worked with some of the young sports community to have a photo session using Indonesian textiles to show that you can do active movement (with Indonesian textiles). There is no barrier to move with Indonesian textiles.

It is a good response from the younger audience. Across the board, there is the concern about regeneration and not a lot of the youngsters want to produce it or use their grandmother’s clothes or something like that. So it is encouraging to hear that response.

I always said to them that you do not need to buy to support Indonesian textiles. If you have buying power, of course, you can buy, you can adopt. But you can be anyone, like you can be a promoter, ambassador, endorser, content creator talking about Indonesian textiles. You can be a product creator using Indonesian textiles. You can be anything.

Nowadays there are so many Indonesian textiles and it is quite affordable. I mean, we have tenun ATBM (ed.: non-motorised loom) which is only 250,000 Rupiah (~24 SGD). If they understand the difference between all those Indonesian textiles, relating the values and the price, I think they can start to think that they can adopt it. We have so many shawls and pashmina from tenun East Nusa Tenggara which is only 50 or 100,000 Rupiah. You can wear the pashmina like a kemben (ed.: Indonesian female torso wrap historically common in Java, Bali, and other parts of Indonesian archipelago) and then you put the denim jacket or leather jacket to make it more modern.

A lot on your Instagram is definitely the mix and match of textiles. This seems to be one of the highlights and signatures. What is your inspiration of which textiles to combine with which? Do you have any tips for us?

If you ask me who is my inspiration, I can be inspired by everybody. Like my daughter, they are 17 and 12 years old. I got inspired by their fashion style, inspired by my mom, everybody. There is no particular inspiration. Sometimes, I just stand in front of the mirror and then I just start doing things with textiles and then kebaya and then something happens. So if I can do that, actually everybody can too because I am not someone who is an expert. If you really love something and want to learn, it will make you more creative and then suddenly the idea pops up.

I also said to the young generation that actually understanding motifs is quite simple. You do not need to think (too much) about the meaning of one motif. For instance, one is just talking about unity, how is your relationship with God and then with nature, how to be grateful, how to be respectful of each other. So basically the meaning of those motifs is actually just that. So you do not have to worry about the rules (in Indonesian, it is pakem). Of course, you have to understand the rules, but I think most of our Indonesian textiles, more than eight maybe ninety percent could be used by everybody. So the sacred ones are actually not that much. Most of our Indonesian textiles could be worn by everybody.

That is one discussion that I am trying to encourage as well because textiles originated from daily wear. So when it started to be exported out, a lot of narratives were written and romanticised all these textiles to became something sacred or have a special particular meaning when it is probably people who wear it on a day-to-day basis. All the motifs and patterns are good blessings. I hardly hear of textiles that have a bad meaning. It is a matter of understanding.

I can summarize that the journey of Rasa Wastra is not to become a museum or a school of Indonesian textiles. I just want to encourage people to learn about Indonesian textiles in a simple way. You do not have to be scared about the rules. I think that is the challenge if you are asking about what the challenge is.

I just want to encourage people to learn about Indonesian textiles in a simple way.

Yes, what are some of the challenges that you face when you are running Rasa Wastra?

I think it is about balance. We know that we cannot avoid technology, we cannot avoid modernit and we cannot avoid global trends. Of course, they are very important for the future, but I think we still have issues balancing this technology and how we can still appreciate our local artisans.

What do you mean by technology?

We know that there are so many machine-printed clothes that are also very good. Even the textures and the patterns are quite similar and close with the handmade ones. It is so good. I think the challenge is how we as Indonesian people can create the balance. You should still appreciate our local makers and crafters because they still need to buy rice by working with their hands. I think this is also the most challenging: how to balance and how can people appreciate.

This is also my experience when I interact with the crafters and makers. Sometimes, we have to give them insight on how to create batik or tenun that are more acceptable to market, to tell them if the motif is too old, or tell them to combine with a more modern motif so it becomes contemporary. Tenun is also the same with batik. We have a tenun that has a pure traditional motif and those that are also mixed with modern patterns. There are so many influences on other motifs. How we can do mentoring and giving insight for our hand-woven makers to create motifs or the materials that can be accepted by the market, especially young generations.

Also, the challenge is the design. That is why I encourage the young people to create more products using Indonesian textiles. I think we should help our local makers with product creations, innovations, creativity on motifs, patterns, materials. There is also one type of support that we can help them with. Maybe you cannot buy those batik or tenun, but you can be a mentor.

I think understanding is also the challenge. We have so many cultural communities. We have so many communities who claim that they understand about kebaya and Indonesian textiles, for example. Actually there is something more that needs to be improved in terms of understanding or how to deliver the message of this piece of clothing. It is not just pretty in terms of colors and patterns, but also how you can communicate the story behind it in a simple way.

There is also homework for all of us about how to communicate (these values). My background is in advertising. We can always explain something as simple as possible. I think we also need this in our Indonesian textiles – how to communicate this story in a simple way. I think that is also the challenge. It is easy just expecting people to say that the color or the pattern is beautiful, but people should really understand the story behind it. I do believe if they already understand it, they can appreciate it more.

I like the mission of you as the connector of all these different collaborators, not just artisans, but also designers, communities, so basically a wide spectrum, right?

I like to work with communities that do small things with a big heart because I believe it is all started from there. That is also bringing back my memory when I started doing this. Just small actions but to do it with a big love.

What are some of the initiatives that are upcoming or what can we see from Rasa Wastra in the near future?

We joined some festivals. Mostly I become an endorser or a spokesperson for some of the cultural festivals, like Festival Payung. Then we are still working with some universities, like UI and UNJ. We have a talk show with them talking about Indonesian textiles and kebaya, also an up-cycle and recycle project with them. We have some brands and corporations to work with us and, in October, we will work with some of the corporations to have some initiative on embracing the nation’s culture. Other things, Ruang Rasa Kumpul or Ruang Rasa Belajar are still ongoing virtually, there is no barrier.

Maybe a collaboration with aNERDgallery?

Of course, I have so many ideas actually so we can talk later.

That is a very busy year. We are definitely looking forward to a lot of fun stuff from Rasa Wastra.

What are your closing words to sum up or like what are your hopes for Rasa Wastra and Indonesian textiles in general?

Everybody can support. Everybody can help. Everybody can be anything. If you do not have money, you do not need to buy. You can be a promoter, an ambassador, an influencer, an endorser, a content creator, anything. I want to see more content creators who highlight our Indonesian textiles and also more product creators.

I believe many young generations start doing business when they are still teenagers. You can adopt the trend from Japan or Korea or around the world, but please, you can always put Indonesian textiles in whatever your creations. The way to support our UMKM, like our local makers, is as simple as just giving them support and encouraging them to have endurance. I think in these (pandemic) situations, endurance is the most important thing.

Basically, just do something that you can do. You do not need to have money or you do not have to be a collector of Indonesian textiles to help them. You can just go there, create content and then promote them. You can help them by doing live shopping, live selling from the place or you can just buy one tenun and then you create some products that are attractive.

As you mentioned throughout the conversation today is keeping things simple. As long as we can start small with a big heart, we can progress and to increase our understanding and our love for Indonesian textiles.

Of course, I keep learning because there are a lot of Indonesian textiles. Never stop learning!

Thank you so much once again Monique for dropping by today. I had a great time and I am loving the energy!

Semangat ya!

We hope you enjoyed this episode of aNERDspective. Check out the previous episode on IGTV and our gallery and store if you would like a piece of Indonesia for your home or wardrobe. You may also check out  Rasa Wastra’s Instagram for the latest activities and events.

Photo credit: Rasa Wastra Indonesia, unless stated otherwise.