Nyai Kundan, a woman who makes clothes from wood bark

. (ANTARA) -
Her name is Hayatun Nufus, born is Haruai, Tabalong, May 29, 1978, but people known her better as Nyai Kundan.

When in Banjarmasin, the woman, who is a wife of a military soldier, was so confident to wear her tribal contume of Dayak to go everywhere. Even when she took part in the presenter contest held by the National Agency of Antara (LKBN Antara) on the celebration of the 2020 National Press Day (HPN).

Asked about the costume made of tropical tree bark that she wore, the woman, who is a dancer of the Tabalong Tourism Agency, acknowledged that she made is herself. 

Even making costumes from tree skin is become her side business aside from being a civil servant at the state junior high school of SMPN 7 Tabalong.

The Master of Economics graduated from the college of STIE Pancasetia told that it was by accident that she learned about making tree skin for cloth after seeing a craftman in Upau village.

She then tried it at home and it worked. Then she made it and made it again. The woman took the material from the skin of Daluang tree (Tarap Hundang).

Cloth from tree skin then became her business. She sells the processed bark of her production for IDR300,000 per sheet. In a day she produces two pieces. She obtained many orders from Jakarta, Bali, apart from South Kalimantan itself. 

The woman, whose father is a Dayak Loksado and mother of Dayak Upau, does not work alone. She has four friends to assist her. It is because processing bark to become cloth need patience. The bark, which is taken from tropical forest, should be beaten using hammer made of ironwood and the base is also made of ironwood.

If there is a mistake in the processing, it fails cannot be used for making cloth. Therefore it must be careful and slow to process, while beating should be done repeatedly and alternately, thus it take such a long time.