Artisans

We work with rural communities in Thailand and Laos where women have long been recognized as valuable and equal members of their families and communities. These artisans:

• transform barks, berries, leaves, seeds and silk cocoons into gorgeous weavings
• create traditional and contemporary designs using floor looms like the one on our home page
• develop and use natural dyeing techniques that support their health and the environment

TAMMACHAT Natural Textiles is building trading relationships with the following established groups. Read about them below or visit our Travel Blog to read stories of our 2007-2008 visits with some of these groups.

• Panmai Group
• Prae Pan Group
• Nan Hattakam
• Fai Gaem Mai
• Pattanarak Foundation
• Suan Nguen Mee Ma Company (Garden of Fruition)
• Green Net Coop
• Mulberries
• Voices of the Weavers (from members of Panmai Group)

Panmai Group has 250 members living in three provinces in Northeast Thailand in both Khmer and Laotian villages, who draw on these traditions in their designs. These women are very skilled in sericulture (the entire cycle of silk production) and are proud to weave only organic, village-reeled and naturally dyed silk yarns.

They are expert and widely respected for their dyeing skills using natural materials, protecting both their own health and that of their environment.

Panmai is a member of The ThaiCraft Association, which is a member of IFAT, the global network of Fair Trade Organizations.

You can find handwoven Panmai silk scarves and shawls and silk squares for quilters and other fibre artists in our Online Shop.

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Prae Pan Group has 200 members in 7 villages in Thailand’s Khon Kaen province. They are highly skilled at supplementary weft weaving and the natural dyeing of cotton, although they weave silk as well. Prae Pan, like Panmai, has been operating for 20 years and is proud to be entirely villager-run and self-sufficient.

During a recent visit, women from both groups told us that this work allows them to stay in their villages where they can live with their families, grow rice and practice their foremothers’ art – while preserving it for their heirs. Your purchase will help sustain these traditions and the communities in which they thrive.

Prae Pan is a member of The ThaiCraft Association, which is a member of IFAT, the global network of Fair Trade Organizations.

You can find handwoven Prae Pan silk scarves in our Online Shop.

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Nan Hattakam was formed by ethnic minority groups living in Thailand, close to the Lao border. The project provides an important source of income as well as helping preserve their distinctive cross-stitch techniques.

Nan Hattakam is a member of The ThaiCraft Association, which is a member of IFAT, the global network of Fair Trade Organizations.

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Fai Gaem Mai is based in Chiang Mai University and helps community-based production groups in Northern Thailand develop handwoven Eri silk products, one of the textile products that TAMMACHAT carries. The Eri silkworm feeds on the leaves of cassava, rather than mulberry, providing additional income for villagers already growing this high-volume, low-value commodity.

Fai Gaem Mai is a member of The ThaiCraft Association, which is a member of IFAT, the global network of Fair Trade Organizations.

You can find Eri and mulberry silk scarves, created by the Pad Naa Sawan village women's weaving group, in our Online Shop.

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Pattanarak Foundation works to balance development and conservation among disadvantaged communities and stateless peoples. Their products are handmade with an indigenous species of cotton organically grown along the Thai-Lao border on the banks of the Mekong River. After spinning, dyeing and weaving, some products are sewn by projects in the west of Thailand along the Burmese border. This helps forge links and exchange ideas between communities that are experiencing similar challenges.

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Suan Nguen Mee Ma Company (Garden of Fruition) was founded by Sulak Sivaraksa, who was honoured with the Right Livelihood Award (the “Alternative Nobel Prize”), to explore new markets for indigenous crafts, to publish educational materials and to act as a small-scale, practice-based “think tank.” Among their projects, they support small groups of farmers in Nan, Thailand to revitalize organic cotton growing, spinning and weaving.

You can find organic cotton tablecloths/runners from these artisans in our Online Shop.

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Green Net Coop helps Thai organic farmers market their products. One Green Net project brings together grandmothers who grow, spin and weave organic cotton in Ban Kokkabok in Loei province with sewers in Panmai Group in Northeast Thailand, who transform the cloth into children’s sunhats and baby products. Read the story of the Kokkabok Women's Cotton Group.

Look for these great kids' sunhats in our Online Shop.

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Mulberries is the market brand of the Lao Sericulture Co., a not-for-profit organization that is accredited by IFAT. Its goal is to strengthen the position of women in Laos by providing them with dependable incomes and to preserve their sophisticated weaving and natural dyeing techniques. Women are further trained to bring diverse skills and environmental sustainable to the complex cycle of silk production with extraordinary results. Founder Kommaly Chantavong was a nominee for 1000 Women for the Nobel Peace Prize 2005 for her work on this important project that is recognized for its poverty alleviation, cultural preservation and peace building.

You can find Mulberries silk scarves and decorative weavings in our Online Shop.

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Voices of the weavers

	“You must consider the whole process if you want to support this art. It is difficult to produce by hand. Our work is real women’s group work, handmade art and tradition.” Mae Samphun Jundaeng Chairperson, Panmai Group Northeast Thailand
	“I feel in harmony with this work.” Loek Khonsudee Member, Panmai Group Northeast Thailand
	“We want to work with natural dyes – it’s better for our health and for the environment. The colours we use in our weavings depend on the plants available around our village. I am told that most people appreciate my work – especially the colours.” Noi Simpree, Member, Panmai Group Northeast Thailand

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To see more photos by TAMMACHAT's co-founder Ellen Agger, visit Social Fabric, a sampling from her collection from visits to weaving villages in Thailand and Laos.