From 2020-2022 Bali was deeply affected by the COVID pandemic. Families mourned for the death of loved ones, as in every country around the world, but the island managed the virus so deaths were less than other regions. However tourism was reduced to less than 5% which had a disastrous economic effect on families, workers and businesses. Bali showed its ability to adapt during this time with the domestic travel market mobilising, but they were depressed years for much of the island and its neighbours.
Tradisi adapted to having very few visitors in store by developing stronger relationships with our wholesale customers from around the world. We continued to buy ikat and batik while selling at reduced prices just to cover our costs. Our aim was to keep buying as many textiles from around Indonesia as possible. Wholesale customers kept us afloat and for that we are very thankful. We were able to produce large amounts of cushions & bags and even successfully oversaw a large quantity of cloth woven-to-order. Moving beyond COVID we hope to maintain our wholesale customers meaning an expansion of the work and services we deliver.
Bale Warna Alam, the natural dye workshop we helped build in Lombok was sitting idle while COVID reduced sales and tourism. Growing from a wholesale customer request in London we introduced tassels making to a group of weaving women. While our production is still fairly small, tassels and trims have been a great additional income to the weavers during hard times. We hope our tassels, in a magnificent range of naturally dyed colours, will grow into a small industry on its own. 
We also designed a new range of bags and developed our skills at clothes making. We have added robes, skirts and jackets to our shop, ready for customers to return. Early post-pandemic sales are proving this to be a positive addition. We have also extended our made-to-order service to include simple clothes.
COVID has brought some difficult years for everyone but Tradisi managed to keep our doors open and continued buying cloth from around Indonesia. Travel is back and we have expanded our shop and our services which we hope will lead to more sales. If all goes to plan by the end of the year we will be in a position to increase the valuable financial support we offer to community organisations and women around Indonesia.
