East Timor Women Australia (ETWA) is a

grassroots A grassroots movement is one that uses the people in a given district, region or community as the basis for a political or economic movement. Grassroots movements and organizations use collective action from the local level to effect change at t ...

non-government organisation A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in h ...

established to support women in

East Timor East Timor (), also known as Timor-Leste (), officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is an island country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the exclave of Oecusse on the island's north-weste ...

East Timorese
Tais ''Tais'' is a form of ''Tenun'' weaving tradition native to the eastern Indonesian regions of the Maluku Islands, the Tanimbar Islands, and the East Nusa Tenggara Islands (in Timor Island, the political government divided into West Timor of ...

A key focus of support is in assisting women's sustainable livelihoods in the handcrafts industry. ETWA partners with local organisations the Taibesi Cooperative and Cooperativa Tais Timor (CTT). These organisations source

tais ''Tais'' is a form of ''Tenun'' weaving tradition native to the eastern Indonesian regions of the Maluku Islands, the Tanimbar Islands, and the East Nusa Tenggara Islands (in Timor Island, the political government divided into West Timor of ...

, the traditional East Timorese weavings, from rural and urban weaving groups. The weaving of tais requires a great deal of skill with designs having a deeply embedded cultural meaning. Designs are passed down from mother to daughter with great variation across the country. Tais are woven on back-strap looms where a harness sits on the lower back providing tension. Traditionally tais were made from locally sourced and spun

cotton Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus ''Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor perce ...

although many weavers have incorporated imported cotton into their designs. Many East Timorese organisations such as CTT and Taibesi are also incorporating tais into other product design in order to access broader markets for their products. ETWA supports the handcrafts industry as a mechanism which allows women to support themselves while maintaining their cultural heritage. With high rates of

domestic violence Domestic violence (also known as domestic abuse or family violence) is violence or other abuse that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage or cohabitation. ''Domestic violence'' is often used as a synonym for ''intimate partner ...

in East Timor economic empowerment may be one way to further strengthen women's social role and opportunities.{{Citation needed, date=May 2009 It also allows the many women

widow A widow (female) or widower (male) is a person whose spouse has Death, died. Terminology The state of having lost one's spouse to death is termed ''widowhood''. An archaic term for a widow is "relict," literally "someone left over". This word ...

ed or

orphan An orphan (from the el, ορφανός, orphanós) is a child whose parents have died. In common usage, only a child who has lost both parents due to death is called an orphan. When referring to animals, only the mother's condition is usuall ...

ed under the Indonesian occupation with a means of supporting themselves while recognising their highly specialised skills and expertise.

The Organisation

ETWA is a member-based organisation that is run by volunteers with support by a part-time coordinator. It was established in 2004 by a group of

community development The United Nations defines community development as "a process where community members come together to take collective action and generate solutions to common problems." It is a broad concept, applied to the practices of civic leaders, activists ...

students, some of whom were active in the Free East Timor movement before the 1999 referendum. As well as its Melbourne based office ETWA also has chapters active in the Dandenong Ranges, Gippsland and the Northern Territory. The organisation is self-funded by membership fees, donations and fundraising activities.

Activities

In addition to supporting CTT and the Taibesi Cooperative to find markets overseas ETWA undertakes other activities. Currently these include developing a program for

social justice Social justice is justice in terms of the distribution of wealth, opportunities, and privileges within a society. In Western and Asian cultures, the concept of social justice has often referred to the process of ensuring that individuals fu ...

education in schools, a design collaboration with students from the

University of New South Wales The University of New South Wales (UNSW), also known as UNSW Sydney, is a public research university based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is one of the founding members of Group of Eight, a coalition of Australian research-intensive ...

and community advocacy. In 2005 ETWA cooperated with the

Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology RMIT University, officially the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology,, section 4(b) is a public research university in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1887 by Francis Ormond, RMIT began as a night school offering classes in art, scienc ...

Globalism Institute to hold th
and Possibilities''
conference which facilitated dialogue between organisations working with women in East Timor. In 2007 ETWA will support a health study into the health of Timorese weavers. The organisation also has a very strong relationship with the Dili-based Cooperative Studies Centre. ETWA is cited in the boo

by activist-historian Clinton Fernandes as an example of positive collaboration for sustainable development in East Timor.

External links

ETWA website

Online Tais Museum
Women in East Timor Australia–East Timor relations

East Timorese Tais ''Tais'' is a form of ''Tenun'' weaving tradition native to the eastern Indonesian regions of the Maluku Islands, the Tanimbar Islands, and the East Nusa Tenggara Islands (in Timor Island, the political government divided into West Timor of ...

The Organisation

Activities

See also

External links

East Timorese
Tais ''Tais'' is a form of ''Tenun'' weaving tradition native to the eastern Indonesian regions of the Maluku Islands, the Tanimbar Islands, and the East Nusa Tenggara Islands (in Timor Island, the political government divided into West Timor of ...