Threads of Life Textiles

How to get to our natural dye studio in Petulu, Ubud

We have limited parking space and the road to our studio is very narrow, we’d recommend using a motorbike.

See you soon!

A pua kumbu is made from two panels of ikat cloth that are sewn together into a larger blanket called pua. It is used as a decorative hanging during harvest ceremonies among the Dayak of Kalimantan called Gawai, where it may be hung or used as the blanket upon which offerings are placed for the ancestor. Kumbu refers to the red color of the textile derived from the bark of the root of Morinda citrifolia tree. The mordant process used to achieve the red dye is complex as it requires many different plants from the forest.

Weavers and dyers taught us everything we know about traditional use of mud dyes. Threads of Life, together with Bebali Foundation, have worked alongside weavers and dyers communities across Indonesia for over 27 years, including Sulawesi, Timor, Sumba, and Bali. We further extend this student-hood through Threads of Life natural dye studio, where we can continue to practice and research natural dye techniques and introduce the ecological, cultural, and technical values of these traditions to younger generations.⁠
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During Ubud Open Studios 2026, we will share with you the work of the Bebali Foundation, who have been working alongside Threads of Life for decades – sharing their field research across the archipelago and showcasing selected samples and specimens on traditional mud dyeing practice.

Mud dye is a foundational natural dye practice, used in many communities across Indonesia. You might have seen rich black and white morilotong textile and long sarita textiles from Sulawesi, black lau sarongs from East Sumba, or intricate black and white mau ana textiles featuring sotis weaving from Timor. Some mud dyed textiles predate other textiles which use indigo blue, morinda red, ceriops brown, and jackfruit yellow dyes.

In Bali, cloth is more than fabric — it is a bridge between sekala and niskala, the seen and the unseen. Textiles such as bebali and cepuk are woven into daily offerings, rituals, and ceremonies, carrying stories of spirituality, community, and place.⁠
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For this upcoming Feature Friday, we invite you to explore how Balinese cloth traditions continue to hold cultural, spiritual, and communal life together.⁠
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Join us for an afternoon of sharing and learning at our gallery in Lungsiakan, Sayan, on Friday, June 19.