IDF 2019 Best Infographics Winner: MENA Indonesia: Strengthening Local Communities by Preserving Tradition

Ni Nyoman Sri Natih Sudhiastiningsih and Ignatia Dyahapsari.

Strengthening local communities can be done without having to tamper their culture. It was a statement made by MENA Indonesia Team, the winner of the IDF 2019 Infographic Competition with a work entitled "Co-design to Support Village Empowerment in Ngada, East Nusa Tenggara".

“We do not want to change what the community has, but develop it according to their needs," said the MENA Indonesia Program Director and infographic designer who won the IDF competition, Ignatia Dyahapsari or commonly referred to as Riri. 

MENA Indonesia seeks to help communities develop and utilize their local traditions, skills and natural environment to improve their living standards and reduce social inequalities. MENA Indonesia is currently working in several villages in Ngada, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), with a main focus in the Adat Bena Village. The people working for this organization are those coming from two disciplines, namely anthropology and design. 

They collaborate with local communities in Ngada and produce what they call collaboration designs (co-designs).

"We combine design thinking with the ethnographic approach, although the ethnographic observation was only brief. We went to Ngada and stayed with the community to find out about their customs," said Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and MENA Indonesia Co-founder, Ni Nyoman Sri Natih Sudhiastiningsih.

Natih, as she is usually referred to, is an anthropologist from the University of Indonesia (UI). According to Natih, getting to know the community well before developing an empowerment program will help understand the needs of the target community.

Exploring Opportunities to Promote Woven Works of Bena Village in Ngada

In Ngada, MENA Indonesia collaborates with the people of Bena Village, a traditional tourism village. Quoted from Kumparan, Kampung Bena is one of the oldest traditional villages in NTT. It is estimated to have existed since 1,200 years ago.

The MENA Indonesia team stayed for four months in Bena Village before designing innovative woven products with the local weavers.

"We explored the existing potentials, both in terms of natural resources and Human Resources (HR). The main potential that we found was the woven products. However, there are no full-time weavers there as weaving is only considered as something to kill time. And the skills have been passed between generations," continued Natih. 

The weavers work individually, and they have no groups in which they work together. The woven cloth they produce in Bena Village is usually 150x100 cm in size.

“Unfortunately, it does not really sell. Even to European tourists. Many tourists have a limited budget and the capacity of their bags to carry souvenirs is also limited," explained Natih. 

Sheets of cloth woven end up being displayed in front of the house, exposed to dust and heat of the sun for a long period of time, making their quality deteriorates quickly.

Based on these conditions, according to Riri, MENA Indonesia identified a marketing problem with a large piece of woven fabric produced by Bena Village.

“We then ask them to keep doing what they have been accustomed to, but the size of their products should be changed," said Riri.

The weavers were encouraged to reduce the size of their products, but the patterns, colors, and way of weaving should remain the same. The small size woven fabrics can function as accessories, such as bracelets, earrings, and others.  

"We will not intervene in patterns and others, and will not cut the woven cloth. Because we really appreciate the process, "said Riri. 

At first, only one weaver wanted to try to produce fabrics of small size. "Her name is Mama Yustina, then she tried to sell her products. Apparently, tourists prefer small sizes. When many people bought Mama Yustina's products, only then did other women want to try," added Natih.

Now, there are five weavers who are in collaboration with MENA Indonesia. The five weavers sent their products to be marketed in Bali and Jakarta and to be sold by the MENA Indonesia Team. There are also products sold in the Bena Indigenous Village area.

Building a Community of Weavers and Introducing a New Form of Village Tourism

Natih said, MENA Indonesia still has a lot to do for Bena Village.

"We will go back to Ngada to form a community of craftsmen, because it does not yet exist, and we will develop a system there," Natih said.

The system is related to financial management and organization. The weavers so far have never calculated the cost of production to determine a profitable selling price. The establishment of the community of weavers will be done under MENA’s supervision. 

In terms of marketing innovation, MENA Indonesia is trying to design bracelets that can be used as an entry ticket to Bena Indigenous Village, also as a souvenir.

“Instead of just paper tickets, bracelets can be used," continued Natih.

She calculated, with a total of 40 families and the ability of one family to make 5 bracelets each day, the need for entry tickets for an average of 200 tourists who visit Bena Village on a daily basis can be met. The price of the ticket will be left to the discretion of the managers of the village.

"We are currently conveying this idea to the traditional village elders for their support," Natih said.

At IDF 2019, the presentation of MENA Indonesia Team was delivered by Savira Lavinia Raswari, MENA Indonesia's Chief Creative Officer (CCO) on 22 July 2019. Safira appeared at the Ideas and Innovations Marketplace - Connecting for Scaling Up session.   Riri joined the Graphic Recorder Indonesia (GRID) team and made a mural graphic recording that illustrated the key points of discussion during the IDF 2019 event.

What MENA Indonesia Team has been doing in Bena Village, Ngada is in line with sub-theme 7, Developing Local Talents and Local Markets within the scope of the IDF's “Mission Possible: Seizing the Opportunities of Future Work to Drive Inclusive Growth". 

Congratulations to the MENA Indonesia Team, winner of the IDF 2019 best infographic category!