A growing number of Indonesians are getting into archery, and there are cultural reasons why many feel a particular attachment to the sport. 

Asiatic bows are historically made using materials such as horn, bone, sinew, hide or fish-bladder glue, and bamboo or hardwood. It takes bowyers like Anwar Halimudin around six months to one year to build a horn bow using the same method and materials as in the old days.

"I take pleasure in building bows. Crafting has always been my hobby since childhood," Anwar, a 34-year-old native of Garut, West Java, said. “When I was a kid I used to make bows from bamboo. I hunted squirrels and birds on the paddy fields and fish on the fonds.

“To relive my childhood, I jumped on the bandwagon when [traditional Asiatic] archery gained popularity in [2014] and looked on the internet on how to make a horn bow. I began building one in 2017,” Anwar, who majored in fine arts, said.

However, it was not until 2020 that he began selling his works under the brand Carebows, which is a wordplay on kerbau (water buffalo), whose horns can be used to make bows. He now has two workshops, each located in Bandung and Garut.

Anwar, whose main occupation is teaching at a boarding school in Bandung, said he had recreated bows from various cultures. He insisted making a horn bow required one to exercise extra patience and determination. 

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