Blayu

From Mengwi you may cross the range to the coast of North
Bali. A left turn off the main road leads to Blayu where the women are
weavers. The clicking of bamboo looms resound, as locally dyed threads
are interwoven in webs of gold embroidery to fashion ceremonial cloths
worn during festivaA sarong two meters long takes three weeks to a month
to weave, depending upon the intricacy of the design. The Balinese clean
such cloth by dusting it and letting it dry in the sun, since it is not
washable. In the past, girls were weaving with their mothers by the time
they were ten years old. Nowadays, they are away at school and the ancient
Balinese craft is left to their elders. The sarongs the Balinese wear
everyday are batiks from Java and cloths woven in Balinese factories.
BM the demand for songkets (the cloths with interwoven gold thread) for
festival and ceremonial use is still sufficient to keep busy the women
of Blayu and several other villagesls.