How to set up a weaving program?

It all starts with a meeting

The establishment of a weaving cooperative begins, like Opportunity for Women, with a meeting. Thanks to local contacts (Burma, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam) and providential encounters, we identify weavers, then we go to visit them with a person who knows them and speaks their language.

We start by talking to them and asking them if they weave. With a big smile or shyness, they show us their loom, sometimes it is only a few pieces of bamboo, and especially their traditional clothes.

The big question: do they want to receive fabric orders?

We quickly ask them if they like weaving and if they would like to receive orders. Most of the time they are very keen. A group of 10 weavers in Vietnam welcomed Lucie with open arms, hoping to be able to weave full-time from home, rather than being a saleswoman or cleaning for families of the Kinh ethnic group (Vietnam's majority ethnic group).

So we explain to them how we work: by identifying the raw materials with them, making a catalog of patterns and then placing the order.

First step: observe their weaving and understand where the raw materials come from

First, we observe how they weave: on the ground, on a loom ... and we ask them where their raw materials come from. Some still know how to dye cotton, which they sometimes grow themselves, others buy polyester threads on the market in a neighboring town.

Step two: identify raw materials

Together we decide on the raw materials we will work with. We have a preference for natural materials and vegetable dyes produced in the weavers' village, if not in a nearby village. In some cases we choose Oeko-Tex certified polyester threads to allow the weavers to weave as quickly as possible and to have additional income. In the long term, we look for more sustainable alternatives.

Step Three: Weave a Catalog of Traditional Patterns

With the weavers we take photos of the patterns and if possible note their name (in the weavers' dialect) and their meaning. Then we choose 3 to 10 patterns for the catalog , and we place an initial order for these patterns, sometimes with adaptations of colors and width. The catalog thus woven allows us to help women in their business development.

Step Four: Order Fabrics

We then place a first order for fabrics which will be assembled into cushions! These cushions are sold on our site and allow us to have a first range of products before collaborating with other brands, decorators or stores.

Fifth step: support for business development

Once the logistical issues are resolved and the weavers are able to understand our orders, we help them in their business development. We are now focusing on the European market while waiting for the market in South East Asia to resume (we had identified opportunities related to tourism, but which are suspended following COVID-19).

Sixth step: financing of projects in villages and empowerment

Thanks to the profits from sales, we finance projects in the villages around the ecological and solidarity transition: education, sustainable agriculture, empowerment . Our goal is to help these villages develop sustainable and dignified activities to maintain jobs in the villages, help these populations escape from precariousness and preserve cultures and know-how.

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