The Maju Bersama Women Weavers Group is a community located in Balai Batu Sandaran Village, Barangin District, Sawahlunto City, West Sumatra. This community was formed with the aim of increasing the capacity of women in the village through weaving skills, especially in producing songket woven cloth with natural dyes.

Most of the group members are female heads of families, because their husbands are sick, their husbands can no longer work because they are victims of mining explosions, etc. Maju Bersama Women Weavers depend on their weaving skills to support their family's economy. Now, the Maju Bersama Women Weavers Group is trying to encourage the production of natural dyed woven fabrics and revive the learning center as a training center and promotion of woven products that have been stopped due to the decline in market purchasing power due to COVID-19.

Through a program supported by the Nusantara Fund Direct Funding, the Maju Bersama Women Weavers Group initiated a revitalization initiative for learning centers and natural dye weaving training that will run from April to June 2024. This program aims to reintroduce natural dye making skills and manage learning centers as centers for education and marketing of woven products. The activity began with socialization to all group members to explain the objectives of the program and the technical steps for implementation.

In April, the group held a four-day natural dye making training, involving 11 group members. The participants were trained to utilize natural materials available around them, such as ketaping leaves, galinggang leaves, mahogany powder, lansano bark, and gambir as sources of natural dyes. The training not only aimed to improve technical skills, but also to educate participants about the benefits of natural dyes that are safer for health than chemical dyes.

In addition to the natural dye training, in June, a weaving design training was held, attended by 10 participants. Participants were trained to create two basic motifs, namely the tabur motif and the dada motif, as well as practice in applying these motifs to woven fabrics. To ensure the future of weaving skills, the training also involved young women who are the children and grandchildren of members of the Maju Bersama Women Weavers Group, as part of the process of developing motif cadres in the community.

In addition to skills training, the program also includes the provision of supporting facilities. As a center of activity, the learning center is equipped with storage cabinets that function to store and display woven products. The learning center is also used as a regular meeting place for group members to discuss product development and marketing strategies.

The benefits are not only seen from the increased skills of the group members - 26 women and 1 man who are members of the weavers group - in producing natural dyed woven fabrics, but also in their increased capacity to manage the learning center more professionally. With the new management and the development plan for the "Production and Trade Cooperative", it opens up the potential for a wider market reach, including the international market which shows high interest in natural dyed woven products.

By reducing the use of hazardous chemicals and promoting natural dyes, the community not only maintains the quality of life of its members but also minimizes the environmental impact of the textile industry. In addition, the program also improves the economic sustainability of the local community against market price fluctuations and the climate crisis that affect the agricultural and craft sectors in the region.

The natural dye weaving revitalization program and learning center by the Maju Bersama Women Weavers Group has succeeded in reviving weaving production that had stopped, while also providing new hope for women weavers in Balai Batu Sandaran Village to improve their family's economy in a sustainable manner.