Handloom Weaving

by the weaver artisans of Tanoti House.

Pua Kumbu Weaving

by Iban Longhouse community of Rumah Gare.

Rattan Plaiting

by forest communities of Sarawak.

Handloom Weaving

A Songket Revolution

Tanoti Sdn Bhd commenced operations in May 2012 when it assumed a community of songket weavers from the foundation of the previous HRH Queen of Malaysia, Yayasan Tuanku Nur Zahirah. Thus, songket or supplementary weft weavers were the pioneers of the Tanoti community.

Songket is a traditional fabric of golds, silvers and metallic threads, used by the Malay community for ceremonies and celebrations.

Within the atelier of Tanoti House, weaver artisans innovate the traditional techniques of songket weaving and produce exquisite fabric using their simple handloom

‘The versatility of the weaver as well as the equipment she controls allows for innovation to be carried out every time, thus allowing Tanoti’s atelier to continuously produce works of both high artistic and technical standards.’

Tanoti’s handloomed fabrics from our own atelier include the following:

Tanoti’s work with songket has been acknowledged with the following awards:

  • ASEAN Silk Prize
  • WCC Award of Excellence

Tanoti also runs a Songket Weaving Training Programme funded by Maybank Foundation under the Maybank Women Eco Weaver programme. Within the training programme, young ladies learn entire process relating to producing handwoven songket.

Pua Kumbu Weaving

The Ritual Cloth

The community of Rumah Gare is home to a long line of anointed master weavers of the fabled pua kumbu. The ‘cover cloth’ of the Iban ethnic group, the pua kumbu have been dream-woven for generations.

30 ladies strong, this remote longhouse of weavers extract leaves, roots and branches from the rainforest in the vicinity of their home, to treat and dye their threads.

Pua kumbu in indigo dye – single colour

Pua kumbu in engkudu (morinda citrifolia) dye and indigo dye – 2 colours)

Pua kumbu in akar penawar landak dye and indigo dye – 2 colours

Rattan Basketry

The Lifeline Vine

Rattan is a highly viable forest fibre. As a vine and requiring more than a decade to mature, this material is pliable, hardy and provides texture when plaited. The rattan vine requires trees to climb and a canopy to provide shelter; it hence survives and thrives in the Borneon rainforest.

The Penans are Sarawak’s last nomadic tribe. As most are newly settled into villages, the Penans continue to maintain a strong relationship with the rainforest, relying on their lush environs for sustenance and livelihoods. Forest rattan is an important resource to the Penans for many generations, as they manipulate this fibre into items of shelter, rest and carriage.

Tanoti works with Penans in more than 20 villages together with our institutional collaborators. Our mission is to develop the market and enhance the value of the craft of these highly skilled and talented artisans and identify specific areas as centres of excellence in rattan basketry weaving. Our objective is to allow forest communities to sustain their lives and livelihoods and improve their standards of living within their natural habitat, through craft.

Lattice Weave

Mat weaving, cross-cross patterns

Mat weaving, patterns in small repeats

Mat weaving, chevron pattern

Mat weaving, prominent patterns

Lattice weave, with frame

Mat weaving, block colour

Chain of rings

Rattan wrapped rods

Rattan ornaments