Wastra Woven Village Meat Products Made by People with Disabilities Travels to Jamaica

Toba, 20 Mei 2024 - Wastra Weaving Toba Batak weaving from Meat Village, Toba Regency has spread to Jamaica. This product from the village assisted by PT Indonesia Asahan Aluminum (INALUM) is the work of the disability group Li-Uli Craft which also collaborates with Rumah BUMN Toba. The exhibition will be held in Jamaica, Central America on 26 – 31 May 2024.

INALUM TJSL/CSR Senior Vice President Daniel Hutauruk said that this progress was a manifestation of the company's commitment to supporting local cultural products so that they could develop and have sustainable benefits for society. INALUM is also committed and working to ensure that products from the Lake Toba area are increasingly seen locally, nationally and internationally by involving many parties and stakeholders.

"INALUM continues to be committed to introducing literature from Toba to the international world, but not only there. We carry out the mentoring process from the start to the weavers in the Meat Assisted Village, after that assist and empower people with disabilities who are members of the Cahaya Bersama Rakyat Foundation at Rumah BUMN Inalum Toba, as well as promote and introduce Toba Weaving Waste to foreign countries through MSME Partners Assisted by Li – Uli Craft," said Daniel.

The product that will be brought to Jamaica is a type of ulos cloth which comes from villages assisted by PT Inalum, Meat Village is one of the centers for making Ulos, especially the Ragi Hotang type in the Lake Toba area. The finished ulos were then made by PT Inalum through a community development and empowerment program, vulnerable groups or people with disabilities in Toba Regency who are members of the Cahaya Bersama Rakyat (CBR) Foundation which is also fostered by PT Inalum were given increased competence through a Workshop on Making Ethnic Fashion typical of Toba at the BUMN Inalum Toba House.

The ulos are made from the hands of women ulos craftsmen from Meat Village, made traditionally by dyeing the thread using environmentally friendly natural dyes, then hardening the thread with rice or mangosteen, then makulhul or twisting the thread so it can be tied. The next process is manorha, inserting the thread for the ulos. Next is mangani, which is the process of mixing colored threads. Then martonun and manirak to tidy up the sides of the ulos cloth so it doesn't unravel.

Ida Tampubolon as the owner of Li - Uli is an MSME that is affiliated with Rumah BUMN Inalum Toba, which actively brings various products produced by Li - Uli and promotes them to various exhibition events. Starting from various products that were widely noticed and interesting, then Ida Tampubolon by PT Inalum through the CBR Foundation and Rumah BUMN Inalum Toba was appointed as a trainer for people with disabilities in Toba in the context of increasing capacity and the MSME Upgrade program through re-branding various bag products that had been This is still lacking in design and model to make it more elegant and attractive and ready to be promoted at various national to international events, such as the F1H2O performance in Toba last February. Currently, people with disabilities are increasingly having their competence enhanced through special training by Ida Tampubolon to make derivative products from Meat village woven wastera to become fashion products in the form of bags and clothes. This bag and clothes will then be brought by Jamaica.