CONSERVING HERITAGE, ENRICHING LIVES

TANOTI CRAFTS IS MORE THAN JUST ANOTHER ARTISANAL CRAFT EXPERT. ITS CO-FOUNDER, JACQUELINE FONG HAS BEEN BUSY BUILDING ITS BRAND, PERPETUATING THE RICH HERITAGE OF WEAVING IN SARAWAK.

- ALISON LOH 

A FEW MONTHS AGO, I was invited to an evening event at the Godown Arts Centre in Kuala Lumpur. It was called IKAT 2.0, an initiative funded by Yayasan Hasanah that aims to embrace the heritage of tapestry weaving and textile art.

It was here where I first met Jacqueline Fong, the cofounder of Tanoti Crafts and the lead curator for the IKAT 2.0 KL edition. Upon meeting her for the first time, Fong radiated inspiration. But once I got to know her more, Fong presented herself as she truly was – a headstrong businesswoman.

Ever since the inception of Tanoti Crafts in 2012, Fong has been doing everything from providing career opportunities to initiating community-based projects. Her contributions through her business have empowered many lives in Sarawak as well.

One of the few examples is the Cloth Diaper Project, where Tanoti provided aid to families in the suburbs of Sarawak with their cloth diapers.

A specialty that Tanoti is known for is its hand-crafted woven goods. That includes classic designs like the songket fabric. Traditional techniques like weaving are some of the more underappreciated crafts in the world. With Tanoti Crafts in the picture, they are sustaining its heritage that’s proudly part of the Bornean culture.

Fong never really considered herself a benevolent person. But her actions speak for themselves through the many women that she has enabled and empowered through her business.

Let’s start from the top, how did Tanoti Crafts come about? 

It was formed out of a sense of urgency. At that time, I had a full-time job working as an investment banker. One day, a friend approached me and told me about this weaving workshop that was about to close.