Artisanal Weaving

Weaving, an ancestral know-how

The know-how of weaving is ancestral and is passed down from mother to daughter. For example, in Vietnam, each of the 54 minorities has its own traditional costume, often very colorful. Cotton or linen grows in the women's fields, they harvest it and then spin it, it is then dyed with plants from the forest, and in the last step it is woven to form the traditional patterns of the minority. Unfortunately, the cotton plants and plants for dyeing have often been replaced by other crops... So it's up to us to play to motivate the weavers to replant cotton and keep this dyeing know-how!

Weaving is part of women's daily lives

Outside, sheltered from the sun under a makeshift awning in front of their house, under the gaze of the children and amidst the noise of the spinning wheel and the turnips moving from left to right then from right to left, the women weave wonders when they are not busy in the fields or looking after the children and their home.

Weaving is a passion that requires patience

It often takes more than 20 hours of work to weave enough to make a traditional skirt. In the past, minorities wore their traditional costume permanently, but today they wear it on special occasions or to mass. In the highlands of Vietnam, traditional costumes are dark in color (black for the Jarai, Bahnar minorities... and blue for the Churu, K'Ho minorities) because the red earth is dirty and white is reserved for the dead. Each pattern has a meaning: flower, crab, butterfly, river, etc.

Weaving is dying out due to lack of outlets

Many minorities no longer weave by hand and use machines, so some of the patterns and history are slowly disappearing...

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