About TAMMACHAT

The women behind TAMMACHAT Natural Textiles

Alleson Kase and Ellen Agger launched TAMMACHAT in 2007. We love textiles and have been involved with threads, craft and empowering women in one way or another for decades.

Why we started TAMMACHAT

Two reasons:

First, the more idealistic one, was to realize the sayings that “another world is possible” and “vote with your wallet.” We believe that people impact human rights, communities and the environment with every purchase we make. So, it’s important that people have access to fairly traded and environmentally friendly products.

Second (and this is more serendipitous and more personal), we were in the right place at the right time. A few years ago we were travelling around Thailand, searching out weaving groups, an interest of Alleson's since 1980 when she first travelled in Guatemala. The women we met at one weaving co-op told us their sales were down, which meant they had to limit membership in the co-op. Right away, we knew we were going to connect their desire to expand their market with our desires to find new and meaningful careers.

What motivates us

We want to live in a world where:

• women have choices about and control over their lives within their families and communities;
• people are fairly and adequately paid for their work; and
• everyone uses resources wisely and according to their needs, so that communities and the planet are preserved for future generations.

What TAMMACHAT does

• We bring fairly traded, high quality, environmentally friendly, handcrafted textiles from Southeast Asia to consumers in North America and beyond.
• We support the artisans and communities that create these textiles by:
  • paying fair prices set by individual artisans and artisan groups
  • building long-term trade relationships with artisan groups
  • supporting environmentally and socially sustainable practices, and appropriate technologies used by artisan groups in the creation of their products
  • providing international markets for this work to help preserve this women’s art form and encourage the younger generation to continue these traditions
• We educate consumers about the benefits of purchasing fairly traded textiles and about sustainable environmental practices used in the production of this work.

Memberships

• The Thai Textile Society
• SAQA (Studio Art Quilt Associates)
• Nova Scotia Designer Crafts Council