Kachin Dancing
Intricate Kachin Weaving The last day we enjoyed together on the 2012 WEFTshop Textile Tour was at a village, housing a small Kachin weaving facility. WEFTshop has been working with Kachin women since 2009 and has developed an ongoing relationship with Ah Htoi and the women working within the KWAT ( Kachin Womens Association Thailand) and their Income Generation Project (IGP). Ah Htoi was busy with the KWAT annual general meeting but very kindly took the time to show us around the weaving facilities.It was fascinating to watch the women weaving on the larger looms, as so far we had been...
Read MoreOrphan Dolls Find a Home
Annette, Hana and Emma Kate Wallace got a sense of completion when they delivered the dolls that were handmade in Australia during the WEFTshop doll making workshops to the KWO ( Karen Women’s Association) on the Thai- Burma border. The dolls were the result of a series of three workshops run in collaboration with the Karen community in Sydney in the lead up to refugee week in 2011. Hana and Annette delivering dolls The intention of the workshops was to promote a dialogue between the Karen community in Australia and the broader Australian community. We worked together to make dolls...
Read MoreEllen Doyle WEFTshop Founder
In 2006 I first traveled to the Thai- Burma border with Emma. Having been there the previous year establishing relationships with some of the refugee women, she suggested I come along on this trip. I knew I wanted to focus my skills on benefiting others and forming a community together so I took her up on the offer. That first trip was short but profound and it was also when Janita Suter and Deb Maynard were on the border and when our four paths crossed ,WEFTshop was born. Ellen working with Ah Htoi What struck me the most about the women on the border was their tenacity and spirit....
Read MoreLast days on the Border
For our second weaving workshop we return a couple of days later to notice Nung Kil and Noe Thee have been hard at work and progressed every scarf on a fair way. Hana is the first cab off the rank in terms of finishing her scarf and there is a lot of excitement as Nungn Kil cuts the threads to release the piece from the loom. Noe Thee demonstrates how to knot the ends to give the lovely tassle effect that features on the scarves she sells through WEFTshop.One by one each scarf is finished and cut from the loom and it is a team effort as each person knots their ends.Hana demonstrates to Anna...
Read MoreJanita Suter- WEFTshop Founder
Janita Suter The last couple of years have been action packed for Janita Suter, completing a Master of International Social Development and starting a new family. She takes some time to reflect on her ideas about social justice and her involvement with WEFTshop. “I became drawn to the issues for women on the Thai-Burma border by hearing and witnessing the real injustice of their lives and feeling compelled to do what I could to help them access their human rights. A fortuitous meeting with Emma in 2007 on the border (while Debra and I were facilitating Marketing and Income...
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