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Gede Sudiantara

"The art tradition is still genuine in my village – for example, woven bags that use material from the ate plant. Townspeople also make handwoven ikat – fabrics woven from tie-dyed threads – and do handwriting on palm leaves.

"My father was a farmer but to supplement the family's income, my parents also made bags of ate. They offered them for sale in a shop and tourists loved them. Eventually, he gave up farming to concentrate on his weaving. He had so many requests for ate bags that he taught the whole family to weave them. We've been doing this since 1990.

"I started to make bags after I finished studying in Denpasar, where I majored in fine art and design. I develop the designs, and I also created other kinds of shapes such as fruit bowls, and many other new bag styles. But I found it difficult to sell these new designs until I met Novica.

"My themes and designs are inspired from the life of traditional people in my village and the housewares that they use.

"Ate bag making can be learned easily. The material is a plant that we find in the forest near my village. Because it grows wild, it is difficult to find. The vines usually twist and crawl over other plants. The plants we can use for weaving are at least five-years-old.

"To create an ate bag, we need a needle to make a hole in the fibers so the finely smoothed ate can be joined. We apply zinc to smooth the ate that is already divided and cut into four. The bags should be dried and treated to avoid insects. Some pieces use the fiber's natural color, and others are smoked by burning coconut shells.

"Today, I am working together with artisans who live in the forest and hills. By doing so, I can help many people in my village and teach them skills, too."