EFWA BUYA SUBI Project | 2026-2030
DESCRIPTION
Eco Fashion Week Australia (EFWA) provides promotion, education, investment, and cultural awareness to revitalize traditional weaving in Donggala artisanal textiles and safeguard their future. The goal is to save the traditional heritage of Donggala weaving by promoting sustainable, handmade textiles and bringing them into contemporary fashion, while providing economic support to weavers to preserve these textiles for the next generations.
EFWA aims to bring international recognition through its Sustainable Design teams from many countries, with a four-year-long program of marketing, exhibitions, and runway shows, while collaborating with the Indonesian Embassy’s economic development teams in Canada, Australia, and European countries to create market and sales opportunities for traditional woven textiles (Buya Sabe/Buya Subi) to preserve rich and deep cultural heritage. EFWA, in collaboration with the Central Sulawesi Government and Indonesian Embassies, offers a sustainable program for four years as a pilot project
Implementation of the Project/Activity
Education and Mentorship: Educational programs connecting master artisans with younger generations to ensure the techniques are transmitted through hands-on experience.
International Sustainable/Eco Fashion Week Events and Exhibitions: Eco Fashion Week Australia (EFWA) events will be held internationally to support artisans, recognize their work, and provide consumers with a way to value and wear the art of traditional communities.
Cultural Promotion: Connecting traditional textiles with cultural identity and heritage helps promote them as valuable art forms, encouraging both consumption and appreciation for the craft and its makers.
Arrangements for Capacity-Building and Technology Transfer
Project Goals:
The aim is to provide international promotion, education, and cultural awareness to revitalize traditional weaving in Donggala artisanal textiles and safeguard their future.
Coordination Mechanisms
The project will start in January 2026, with ongoing marketing by EFWA, and will run for four years as a pilot project. During this time, the collaboration between Indonesian Embassies globally and Eco Fashion Week Australia will organize various runway shows and exhibitions to showcase designs created by the Sustainable Designers of EFWA using handcrafted textiles from Central Sulawesi.
Evaluation
Traditional Donggala textiles are disappearing due to the dominance of fast fashion, globalization, economic pressures on local artisans, and the disconnect from traditional craft techniques, threatening unique cultural heritage and ecological wisdom.
Our planned efforts to preserve these practices include educational programs, support for artisans, and collaboration with established global fashion initiatives and events that connect consumers to the stories and value behind traditional fabrics.
The economic and cultural significance of traditional textiles in Central Sulawesi represents invaluable material and intangible heritage, bestowing people with a sense of identity and continuity through time.
Unfortunately, like most textile traditions around the world, the loss of this ancient knowledge and these crafts has led to a downward spiral toward their disappearance.
The loss of Donggala's woven fabrics also means the loss of unique cultural traditions, as many of them are deeply intertwined with local customs, stories, and identities.
To ensure the survival of these centuries-old traditional crafts, it is crucial to create supportive frameworks that protect artisans and promote the value of their work in contemporary society.
Partners
Central Sulawesi Government, Eco Fashion Week Australia (EFWA), Central Sulawesi Tourism Office, Doggala Weavers Representatives, Indonesian Embassy Coordinator, Dene Selby modeling agency, Designers of EFWA, Dr. Anne Farren ( Academic Advisor) , Edward Quan -Style Drama (Editor ) Simon Lau (Photography), Alexis Rose Photography/Documentary.