“I can practice eco-printing in the village using leaves from around the village and the protected forest,” said Liberta, a Dayak Wehea resident from Nehas Liah Bing Village, East Kutai Regency, who participated in a training program at the Great Hall of Batik and Crafts in Yogyakarta. For five days in June 2024, eight Dayak Wehea residents learned about traditional batik making and ecoprinting.
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During the first two days, participants received training on batik making, from creating patterns, transferring them onto fabric, batik painting, and dyeing. They created batik designs incorporating several Dayak carving patterns.
Yuliana Wetug, one of the participants, mentioned that Dayak Wehea motifs on batik could become a unique souvenir from Nehas Liah Bing Village in East Kutai Regency, where they live. Two of the eight participants were men skilled in carving wood into totems or other accessories. Paulus Yen and Philipus Tleang Helag drew the Dayak Wehea carving motifs and then turned them into master prints on batik fabric the size of a scarf.
On the third day, participants received training on ecoprinting, a new concept for the Wehea residents. “It turns out you can make beautiful fabric from leaves and flowers,” Liberta remarked. The participants were enthusiastic about the ecoprint training, as the materials were easier to find than traditional batik making.
Yayasan Konservasi Alam Nusantara (YKAN) facilitated the batik training as part of a community empowerment program for people around the forest. The Dayak Wehea community has actively protected the 38,000-hectare Wehea Protected Forest, which is currently in the process of being designated as a Customary Forest.
The Wehea Protected Forest is part of the Wehea-Kelay Landscape, which covers a total area of 532,143 hectares. A collaborative natural resource management agreement was established in 2015, focusing on conserving the Bornean orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus morio) as an umbrella species.
This agreement has since expanded from the original ten parties to 23 under the Wehea-Kelay Essential Ecosystem Area Management Forum (Forum KEE Wehea-Kelay). The Dayak Wehea community, residing in five villages within the Wahau District, is the sole community representative in this forum.
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