If you're on Facebook, we invite you to visit (and like!) our TAMMACHAT Facebook page. If you're not on FB, you can still see our public Ban Tan photo album.
Cotton weaving in Northern Thailand - Ban Tan visit
You can now see a set of photos that I took in Ban Tan on Dec. 25 and 26, 2010 while visiting Junhom Bantan, a cotton weaving group in Northern Thailand. Alleson will post later to this blog with highlights and impressions from this visit. For now, I'll just say that building our fair trade relationship with this group has been a delight! We're impressed with their commitment to using natural dyes, protecting their environment and creating "green products."
We look forward to sharing this group's cotton handweaving with you upon our return to Canada in Spring 2011. We'll have traditional Thai fishermen's wrap pants, cotton scarves in various weights and -- new for this group -- a beautiful undyed silk/cotton scarf made from a mix of Eri silk (handspun silk) and unbleached cotton. Alleson has been wearing this scarf in the last week and loves its soft, yet nubbly texture.
If you're on Facebook, we invite you to visit (and like!) our TAMMACHAT Facebook page. If you're not on FB, you can still see our public Ban Tan photo album.
If you're on Facebook, we invite you to visit (and like!) our TAMMACHAT Facebook page. If you're not on FB, you can still see our public Ban Tan photo album.
When the weaver becomes part of the loom
CHIANG MAI, THAILAND
Today we attended the Royal Project Fair that celebrates the King of Thailand’s support for sustainable agriculture as well as the hilltribe peoples’ cultures and self-sufficiency. There we found some beautiful phaa ngung gee e-ow. The best news is that it was being sold by the Karen weaver herself with assistance from 2 bilingual (Karen/Thai) young women.
We bought 2 of these pieces in red, constructed in a traditional way with 3 long, narrow pieces sewn together. Each strip was 15” wide and almost 2 yards long. Each finished piece makes a stunning textile that traditionally is wrapped around the hips or simply tailored into a tunic top. These beautiful cotton weavings can also be used as to create contemporary fashions or home décor: wall hangings, table coverings, cushion covers and other upholstery uses.
I’m not fond of going to language classes but I love talking with people at markets – especially with tribal peoples whose mother tongue is not the one we’re speaking – especially when we’re talking about weaving or food.
My “Word of the Day” was gee e-ow. The young woman who taught me gee e-ow apologized that she didn’t know the English translation. So I taught it to her. “Backstrap,” I said pointing to my lower back while saying the Thai word for that body part. Then I fell into another vocabulary void, so I mimed a strap going around my hips.
While I may not have known the word, I did know that Karen (aka Kariang) women are renowned for their skill at backstrap weaving. The Karen people are often described as a nomadic “hilltribe” people who have migrated from China. This is literally true but many Karen settled in valleys north of Chiang Mai long before it was part of the nation state called Thailand.
While backstrap looms have largely been replaced by stationary floor looms, some traditional cultures still create beautiful textiles with this deceptively simple technology in which the weaver becomes part of the loom.
The huipiles of Guatemala are perhaps the most widely recognized example of backstrap weaving. However, every year the women who excel at this art number fewer as these traditional cultural practices are lost.
Today everyone was excited with our purchases, which also included several unbleached cotton scarves with a lovely texture. We told them about our business in Canada and they invited us to visit their village weaving group to learn more and, perhaps, to make a special order. This type of exchange often marks the beginning of a longer, fair trade relationship that is based on mutual benefit, learning and respect.
Until next time,
Alleson
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| Proud Karen weaver with her work |
We bought 2 of these pieces in red, constructed in a traditional way with 3 long, narrow pieces sewn together. Each strip was 15” wide and almost 2 yards long. Each finished piece makes a stunning textile that traditionally is wrapped around the hips or simply tailored into a tunic top. These beautiful cotton weavings can also be used as to create contemporary fashions or home décor: wall hangings, table coverings, cushion covers and other upholstery uses.
I’m not fond of going to language classes but I love talking with people at markets – especially with tribal peoples whose mother tongue is not the one we’re speaking – especially when we’re talking about weaving or food.
My “Word of the Day” was gee e-ow. The young woman who taught me gee e-ow apologized that she didn’t know the English translation. So I taught it to her. “Backstrap,” I said pointing to my lower back while saying the Thai word for that body part. Then I fell into another vocabulary void, so I mimed a strap going around my hips.
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| One of the pieces we bought |
While backstrap looms have largely been replaced by stationary floor looms, some traditional cultures still create beautiful textiles with this deceptively simple technology in which the weaver becomes part of the loom.
The huipiles of Guatemala are perhaps the most widely recognized example of backstrap weaving. However, every year the women who excel at this art number fewer as these traditional cultural practices are lost.
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| Discussing good sizes for handwoven shawls |
Until next time,
Alleson
Indigenous Peoples Textile Art
We've met some fascinating and very supportive artists through Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. Bonnie Samuel, a textile artist, is one of these. Check her recent blog post about TAMMACHAT's work in Laos.
You can also follow Bonnie on Facebook, visit her website and check Bonnie's new online shop on Meylah.com.
You can also follow Bonnie on Facebook, visit her website and check Bonnie's new online shop on Meylah.com.