by the weaver artisans of Tanoti House.
by Iban Longhouse community of Rumah Gare.
by forest communities of Sarawak.
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
Tanoti’s handloomed fabrics from our own atelier include the following:
Tanoti’s work with songket has been acknowledged with the following awards:
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.
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 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.
