A group of former female migrant workers from Moyo Mekar village, Moyo Hilir district, Sumbawa regency, West Nusa Tenggara, have successfully developed a Sumbawan woven fabric production center over the past three years.

The Mampis Rungan (which means '€œgood news'€ in the local dialect) house of woven fabric in Mayo Mekar village has not only been able to provide employment but also to reduce the recycling rate of Indonesian migrant workers, a term referring to those who repeatedly work overseas.

'€œWe started producing woven fabric in 2012, when we collected funds from each member for startup capital to buy equipment and yarn. Now, we have marketed our products to Mataram and also outside NTB,'€ Rusyanti, 28, a member of Mampis Rungan told The Jakarta Post.

With around 30 members, Mampis Rungan is able to produce between five and eight pieces of woven fabric of various colors and motifs traditional to Sumbawa each month. A piece of fabric is sold at between Rp 250,000 (US$19.47) and Rp 500,000 depending on the size and level of intricacy.

Rusyanti, who once worked as a domestic maid in Saudi Arabia, said before Mampis Rungan, migrant workers from Moyo Mekar village always returned overseas on new contracts as the money they had earned and sent home ran out.

'€œThere are many cases here where wives who worked overseas sent home their salary, only for their husbands to splurge at home. However, since Mampis Rungan, such cases have declined,'€ she said.

Mampis Rungan group leader Dian Cahyani said the group had been initiated from support provided in 2012 by the Koslata NTB non-governmental group, an NGO concerned with migrant worker issues in NTB.

'€œKoslata NTB initiated a poverty alleviation program through safe migration. The main point was how group members, consisting of four former migrant workers and their families, could manage remittances and own a business independently. We opted for woven fabric as the main activity because the village has long been known as a weaving village,'€ said Dian.

Besides setting up Mampis Rungan, the group also manages an Internet cafe for migrant workers funded by the Australian government through the TIFA Foundation and the Sumbawa Transportation, Communication and Information Agency.

The facility is very useful for migrant workers'€™ families in Moyo Hilir district who wish to communicate with their loved ones overseas.

Data at the Sumbawa Manpower and Transmigration Agency shows that in 2013, Sumbawa sent 4,084 women and 99 men overseas to work, while in 2014, it sent 5,024 women and 111 men overseas.

'€œMost of the women work in the informal sector, especially as domestic maids, in Middle Eastern countries not affected by the moratorium, and Asian countries, such as Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand,'€ Migrant Worker Protection and Placement Affairs head at the Sumbawa Manpower and Transmigration Agency, Nur Hikmah, told the Post.

He added, working as a domestic maid overseas was still a popular choice for people in Sumbawa, especially women with a low education level, because they could earn a much higher salary than if they worked at home.

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