Tuesday 24 January
Meet at Suvarnbhumi airport to fly to the border.
10.30 David pick up Yami, machine, fabric etc
pick up Emma from guesthouse
Drop off to workshop venue.
12:30.Arrive in Mae Sot
Picked up from airport
Arrive at Guesthouse
1-2 LUNCH
2-3 Get settled into ro
3-5/6 DAVID to take us to venue
Introduction with YAH MI and NOE THEE
7 – DINNER
FREETIME

N.B:Driver not available from 3pm to 5pm
Available from 8-3 and 5-6:30pm

BORDER
Wednesday 25 January
7-8 YOGA
8-9 BREAKFAST
9:15 DAVID takes us to YAH MI
9:30-12:30 YAH MI teaches Lahu appliqué
12:30-1:30 LUNCH
1:30 – 5pm Burmese Cooking course
FREE TIME
7 DINNER

Thursday 26 January
7-8 YOGA
8-9 BREAKFAST
9:15 David picks us up
9:30- 12:30 YAH MI teaches Lahu appliqué
12:30- 1:30 LUNCH
1:30- 5:30 WEAVING WITH NOE THEE
5:30 DAVID PICK UP
FREETIME
7 DINNER

Friday 27 January
7-8 YOGA
8-9 BREAKFAST
9:30-5:30 Border Market
FREETIME
7 DINNER

Saturday 28 January
7:30 David pick up
8 – 3:30 Natural Dye Village
FREETIME
Swimming@ Pool
7 DINNER

Sunday 29 January
7-8 YOGA
8-9 BREAKFAST
FREE TIME
Muslim teashop
1 -5:30 Weaving with NOE THEE
5:30 David Pick up
FREETIME
7 DINNER

Monday 30 January
7-8 YOGA
8-9 BREAKFAST
9:15 David pick us up
9:30 Visit KWO
10:-10:30 Visit WEAVE shop
11:00-12:30 Lahu trims with Bai Lee
12:30-1:30 LUNCH
1:30 –5:30 Lahu trims with Bai Lee
7 FINAL DINNER

Tuesday 31 January
Travel to Chaing Mai
5hours approximately

Wednesday 1 February
9:00-3:30 Meet Ahtoi
Kachin weaving village
LUNCH
Kachin Cultural activities
FREETIME
7 DINNER

NB:Early morning yoga on the roof with Elle for those interested
Other activities if we need to make last minute changes could include

Thai massage
Gibbons
Bike riding to Temples around Mae Sot
Day trip to waterfalls

What struck me the most about the women on the border was their tenacity and spirit. After the huge struggles they had encountered their ability to still create was inspiring. They have always been willing and patient working with us even when communication has been difficult.
As a Costume Maker my skills include problem solving, pattern making, and sewing, I also have worked collaboratively,under pressure and sometimes in uncomfortable environments. Having studied at NIDA I learned how to work with commitment and to organize myself and others. My love of traveling means that I have experienced a myriad of people and odd jobs . All these combined with an interest in people and a love of textiles, is what I bring to WEFTshop.
WEFTshop is an intimate organization. We work with a few women and community driven organisations on the Thai-Burma border. We are also beginning to form relationships with people who have re-located to Australia. This makes our work quite personal.

My vision for WEFTshop is to keep building on these existing relationships, strengthening them and forging new relationships with other families and groups.

I would like to see the women growing their own business ,creating a more consistent way to build skills, earn money and gain confidence.
Its really an honour to facilitate the first WEFTshop Textile Tour. I am looking forward to finally seeing the meeting of two worlds, the women on the border and our supporters from Australia. It is exciting because we have planned extensively but still it is difficult to arrange everything from Australia. Life on the border is uncertain and there is an fair amount of playing things by ear and you just hope the people on the tour can be flexible with that.

I think the main challenges of the tour are having not met some of the women and establishing new relationships.Also learning the skills I need to do the blog and making sure I am giving an accurate account of what is occurring and representing the women fairly. I have a level of concern and anxiety wrapped up in the responsibility for the smooth running of the tour.
The general challenge with WEFTshop is that there is always so much that could be done and only so many hours in the day. Also trying to communicate to the public how difficult life is for the women on the border and how important it is to support them. We are constantly asking how to best be useful to the women, how to best assist them,this is our main challenge.
The obvious impact that WEFTshop has had on the artisans on the border is the positive financial gain. They are able to supplement their income and employ other women from their communities. More noteably is the positive impact it has had on their sense of pride, and their hopes for the future. It is obvious their joy in developing skills , the empowered feeling that they can do something to improve their situation and gaining the confidence to help others. The WEFTshop artisans on the border are working together and forming friendships and they are also welcoming to us and happy that we can all work together,making frienships despite our language difference.
My heroes in community development are individuals or small groups who see the need and take the action.Some examples are:
The Social Studio Melbourne: A funky social enterprise educating and empowering young refugees.
Carpets for Communities: Cambodia based project ,upcycling fabric off cuts to produce carpets so women can send their kids to school.
My heroes on the border are those people living in the camps,and all those in the community working for their people, and of course the artisans we are fortunate enough to work with.

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 which would later be given to Karen children in the refugee camps on the Thai Burma border. The workshop created a sense of inclusion ( sewers and non sewers alike!) and was a celebration of the spirit and courage of those people who have had to leave their homeland and resettle in Australia,as well as highlighting the situation for those remaining in the camps on the border.

Generosity was the premise of the project, that we are all able in some way to make and give something to someone less fortunate.

Dolls are a lovely creative medium as they have such human qualities and indeed each one has it’s own personality and bears the hand of the person who made it. They are also a joyful gift for a child to receive, a constant companion.

Above: WEFTshop Doll Making Workshop 2011. Photo: John Skuja

The workshops were very well attended by both community groups and were a hectic hive of activity.The doll making activities continued once a month in a private house up until the time we left for the Textile Tour, when about 45 orphan dolls were stuffed into luggage. Emma and her mum Annie sacrificing a fair proportion of their wardrobe for the dolls to get to the Thai-Burma border.One of the residents at our guesthouse on the border was so smitten with them she wanted to buy one!
Annette and Hana attended these workshops and produced some of the lovely dolls,so it was great they could be present to see their arrival . The KWO will decide were the dolls are most needed in the camps and deliver them on our behalf. Keep posted for more pictures of the orphan dolls finally finding their home.

Hana with her gorgeous finished scarf

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 the technique she has just learned and then Yapa joins in to help each person as they finish.All our tour participants are happy the women worked on their scarves in their absence feeling that they had enough time to pick up the techniques but didn’t have to labour away to get a finished product.

Everyone is very pleased with their hand made scarf and Noe Thee is impressed with her students and how quickly they have picked up the techniques.

Noe Thee demonstrates how to knot the tassles

Anna and Julia exam their work

The following afternoon the women have a more advanced workshop in Lahu trims and embroidery with Bay Lee who welcomed us our first night on the border. Ya Mi is excited to join in as well to improve her skills in this more advanced technique, and it is great to see how keen Ya Mi is to learn and observe the transference of skills between the two women.

Bay Lee demonstrates the advanced technique

Ya Mi and Julia working together

This advanced technique requires the use of a sewing machine and Ya Mi is happy to help by providing her new machine. As well as earning a wage for her teaching during the WEFTshop Textile Tour, the money contributed towards the tour enabled WEFTshop to purchase a new electric industrial sewing machine for Ya Mi, at her request. Previously she had an old treadle machine that didn’t like certain fabrics,so when she had to sew something thick she would have to go to a friends to use their machine.The new machines enables her to work more effectively. The participants express how pleased they are to see this use of their tour costs. Anna says” That’s really great to see the money going to something so useful.” Something that means Ya Mi can earn a living and train others.

Yami instructs Emma on her new machine

It is finally time to leave the border and sadly we have to say farewell to our teachers and friends. We share one final dinner together, filled with laughter, photos, speeches and our hopes to meet together soon in the near future.

Last dinner together

Annette, Hana, Julia, and Anna wearing their scarves

Emma first visited the Thai-Burma border in 1996 and at that time became aware of the situation of refugees from Burma’s ethnic groups who were living here.Emma returned to work with women on the border years later in 2005 after completing a degree in Costume Making at NIDA ( National Institute of Dramatic Art) in Australia.

Amongst the many skills that Emma brings with her to WEFTshop are those of tailoring and sewing . Emma has always been interested in symbols and their meanings and use in textiles and clothing and an appreciation of “traditional skills.”Her desire to peruse and preserve these traditional skills was why she was drawn to tailoring. This desire also crosses over into working with the women in Thailand and Burma and wanting to develop and preserve their traditional skills, weaving,sewing and appliqué. Emma loves story telling and has always been interested in listening and learning from others. From working in a collaborative arts environment Emma has gained insight and experience in creatively working with others and exchanging knowledge. WEFTshop is built on teaching and learning simultaneously.

Her vision is for WEFTtshop to develop into a sustainable entity that helps the WEFTshop artisans to achieve their goals and visions

She is excited about the tour because it provides an opportunity for the WEFTshop artisans to take on the role of teacher and it is exciting to bring cultures together to share.
The main challenge with organising the tour has been that on the border things take time. You have to let go of controlling situations and go with the flow, often things resolve and if they don’t it allows space for other opportunities to arise. You need to communicate clearly so you are confident you are being understood. It has been challenging leading up to the tour trying to balance getting design work and samples done, organising and preparing for the tour and being a mother too 18mth old Tane. Emma says” On a personal note the most challenging thing is knowing you can only do so much when there continues to be so much tragedy, even seeing how many positive things are taking shape there is still so much hardship.”

It’s great to spend time on the border and see how WEFTshop has impacted on the womens’ lives.By accessing their innate talents and textile skills and challenging their organisational abilities they are starting to create business.On a daily basis income from WEFTshop sales helps to provide necessities for the women and their families. It also enables the women to provide work for others and helps to support the continuation of cultural traditions. Another aspect is the building of trusting relationships between Emma and the women and also seeing trusting relationships form between the women from different cultural groups.The women are empowered and developing a clear vision for the future.They have a sense of hope and the knowledge that if they can do it in a small way, they can help others to do it as well.
Emma says the women are her heroes communities that have been relocated from their original homelands, working together to support each other and adapt to a new life and country.
Better world arts, which collaborates between an Australian Aboriginal community and an Indian fair trade organisation creating the realisation of Aboriginal artworks in traditional indian embroidery.
The Social Studio Melbourne.
Emma’s heroes in the camps are all those humans out there who are trying to improve their lives and others in difficult circumstance, particularly those who document the atrocities at risk to their own lives in order to prevent them continuing and to help justice prevail.
What keeps her going is that she is committed and passionate. She says “You often see money being handed out but not so much skill transference” . WEFTshop is really hands on and focused on building skills that the women can develop and pass on to others.Emma is very committed to the personal relationships she has here with the women she says” it is like a marriage”. These women have taught her about generosity ,they always think about how they can give and they have begun a cycle of generosity. She feels like it is what she is meant to be doing.

We were up early and eating our mango and sticky rice breakfast and by 7.30 were all loaded up into the van and setting off to visit a Thai Karen village half an hour drive from town.
It was a very picturesque drive as the sun warmed the green fields and gentle sloping hills topped with Buddhist temples.Peaked cane hats seem to float through the green of the rice fields,as we follow the aquaduct meandering towards our destination.
Cynthia is waiting for us at the village. Cynthia works with WEAVE ( Women’s Education for Advancement and Empowerment),and has worked with Emma on several projects.Cynthia is passionate about textiles and traditional arts and works within the refugee camps supporting women to continue with their traditional skills and earn income.She is full of beans and a great person to be around and has kindly arranged for us to this her village and attend a natural dye demonstration. We are introduced to Areeya and welcomed into her house. She is straight into it showing us samples of her lovely weaving and beginning to prepare the threads.It’s lovely and cool in the house as we sit on plastic mats and soak it all in.

Areeya first learnt to weave when she was twelve but only started earning an income from it at age twenty.She trained in natural dye ,which is a very particular skill to the Karen both from Thailand and Burma, and now teaches weaving and natural dye techniques.Traditionally the Karen would have harvested their own home grown cotton but due to relocation and space restrictions they now buy the threads.The skeins of yarn are undone and vigorously tugged to straighten the fibre and then boiled for two hours to remove the impurities.

In the garden were the family has planted a lot of forest trees for dyeing and medicinal purposes, we watch as a nifty device made of cane with a split in the top is used to twist and remove the fruit from a tree. It is a bush rambutan and the fruit opens with a squeeze of the fingers to reveal the the seeds and husk which are removed to make the dye.Once Areeya has swiftly removed all the seeds from the pods ,she adds cold water and amazingly it produces the most luminous orange dye, which gives the thread a lovely ochre yellow colour.

The tree only fruits once a year so the colour is not readily available- this is often the case with natural dye ,it is difficult to come by and labour intensive so therefore expensive to produce. The laboured results are lovely colours with natural variation and when produced in small amounts, more environmentally sustainable.

Another dye is being prepared from a tree bark. There is only one tree in the local area on a cliff! So we are lucky to have it. The preparation is more involved than for the seeds. The bark is chopped, rinsed and then boiled for two hours to acquire a rich red/brown dye.

While the dye is preparing we take a walk through the village to another house . We all really enjoy the walk and the village as it is an abundance of green fields growing produce including corn and beans . Beautiful stilted houses overlook the countryside and the soft hues and peace are a relief to the eyes and the mind after the hectic life of town. We relax on the balcony in the heat of the day and stroll around the garden. We recieve the call to return to the house as the dye is ready.
The residue bark is removed from the dye and salt is added as a mordant to fix the dye to the fibres. The washed threads are immersed in the dye and brought to the boil, the fibres are gently prodded to coax the dye to take.

Once the threads are fully laden with colour they are removed from the dye bath and hung to dry in the shaded to prevent fading. The threads are then rinsed a further two times and washed in a solution of rice flour and water, starching them to make them easier to loom.

The whole process takes most of the day and even though we have taken an observatory role, we all leave the village with a better appreciation of the process of natural dying and a great appreciation of the work involved in producing the lovely colours of Karen textiles.

Julia Booth with her Lahu trim

Ya Mi then demonstrates a beading technique called “Hpushi” which is the domed  metal beading seen on Lahu costume.

Yami teaches in such a way that the group are fast on the uptake and quickly experimenting with the technique

Hana is especially creative, moving away from traditional geometry into curved patterns.Again Annette Ribbons and I discuss the possibilities of passing on this  beading style to her costume  students and agree it seems like great technique, giving a dramatic shiny effect which would be very effective on stage.

Hana and Annette master "Hpushi"

After lunch we return to our venue  refreshed and ready to get going on the weaving .Noe Thee and her assistant Nungn Kil have put in a bit of an all nighter to prepare the looms for us. Thankfully, because it takes two hours to thread the loom  and from the demonstration given by Noe Thee looks complicated , fiddly and a tantrum waiting to happen. It also takes two people to thread the loom, as they pass the fine warp yarn over and under creating the basic dimensions of the piece.

Noe Thee and her family have also spent the past week preparing the many coloured balls of yarn for our workshop, they take between two and four hours each to roll off the skein. I spoke to Noe Thee earlier today and she said she was excited and happy when she found out we were coming on the Textile Tour . She said she wanted to “ Talk about our work, sharing what we know, so you know how we do the weaving.” Noe Thee , Nungn Kil and Yapa very skillfully wind the thread onto spindles and our mother and daughter teams are ready to go.

Weaving is a very difficult skill to master and the back strap looms require that you are strapped into the loom using your bodies forward and backward motion in the process of weaving the fabric. Anna Booth spoke to me about her experience on the loom. She noted how great Yapa and Noe Thee were at demonstrating and teaching and said “Marvellous, I feel like i have really achieved something, I’d never even seen a loom before.It’s given me an idea of the skill involved, how incredibly clever it is to weave a pattern”

Hana said she really like the weaving even though she felt a bit sore from sitting,and a the end of the day we pretty much have to drag Hana and Annette off the looms. “It is compelling, and coming along quicker than i though” comments Annette. Although we all agree the most difficult part is the preparation which Noe Thee and Nungn Kil have already completed for us.

At the end of the day we are all suitably tired and pleased with ourselves.Noe Thee says she is very satisfied with how the day and went and is impressed with how quickly everyone picked up the basic skills. She remembers “When i first learnt i was very slow, i thought i would never learn”,and look at her now,earning an income from her weaving and teaching others.

Today our workshops begin in earnest. Ya Mi and Emma have prepared well for the session so  very quickly everyone is hands on.  There is a flurry of hands to colours as people choose their preferred fabrics. Yammi is teaching us to make  a textile trim called”  Hka Pa Hpui Tcuh” ,meaning  “dogs teeth” in English.  She presents a large skein of  completed trim  to inspire the group and to guide them.

"Dogs Teeth" Lahu Trim

Annette and I comment that we can see the possible uses for this technique   as a trim in period costumes.  She is keen to pick up the techniques so she can possibly introduce them to her costume students at NIDA.
Traditionally this trim is used on womens  costume, and Ya Mi has been using the trim in a contemporary context  to make her lovely  bags for WEFTshop. Together Ya Mi and Yapa are a fantastic teaching team,  and obviously really enjoying sharing their skills with the group, and soon enough everyone is engaged in the process . The time flies by and the participants comment on how tricky the skill is to master. Ya Mi reveals it takes her an hour to make 20cm of trim, so that encourages our efforts and we look forward to more practice tomorrow. Not only are we gaining new skills but also  developing more appreciation for the skill involved in producing the beautiful work Ya Mi does.

Ya Mi and Yapa Teaching Traditional Textile Skills

After lunch we head off to a traditional Burmese cooking class. Anna, Julia, Annette and Hana choose what they would like to make from the menu and go off to the market to purchase everything fresh. When they return they look exhilarated from the experience of visiting such a bustling local market. They are then into the kitchen where  under Bo Bo’s instruction they whisk up a feast of treats, samosa , ginger salad with fried nuts, sweet rice, and lemongrass juice.

Cooking Class at Borderline

Everyone really enjoyed the experience and again the day ended with  a relaxed feast together. Tomorrow we continue learning trims with Ya Mi and the in the afternoon starting to weave with Noe Thee.

Feasting at Borderline

Samosa and Ginger Salad

We left Bangkok today after meeting at the Survarnabhumi airport. Having not met half the tour group yet I was relieved to find the two friendly looking women on the  queue  in front of me where  Anna and Julia Booth.The other two paticipants of the tour are Annette Ribbons and her teenage  daughter Hana. With Emma and her son Tane , Emmas mum Annie and myself ,we total eight.

I chat to the women about why they decided to come on the tour. Annette Ribbons  is a lecturer of Costume at NIDA (National Institute of Dramatic Art) and is  a lover textiles and textile arts ,and also very fond of this part of the world. Hannah has come with her, last visiting Thailand when she was a two year old and was keen to come here again. Annette and Hana both participated in the WEFTshop  doll workshops in Sydney so it is great to have them here meeting more of the community WEFTshop supports.

Julia Booth is a textile artist based in the Blue Mountains and in the early stages of setting up her own creative  business .She is also a lover of  all things textiles Julia and her mother  Anna have decided that they enjoy  travelling together  and endevour to make a trip each year to a new destination . Last year Anna choose Italy so this year was Julias chioice. She has been a follower of WEFTshop for a long time and was interested in the textile and ethical angle of this tour.

On arrival  we are  met by Emma, David (tour driver), Yapa (tour interpertor ) and Ya Mi (WEFTshop artisan). Ya Mi is a  Lahu women  from Burma who makes  fabulous trims and sews colourful trimmed bags for WEFTshop.Driving into town I ask Ya Mi how she feels about teaching the group some of her traditional techniques. She says “I  am very happy because I am sharing my culture”

After settling into our rooms at  the guesthouse we head over to the venue for our workshop. When we arrive, we are greeted by WEFTshop artisan Noe Thee,   she is beautifully dressed in her traditional Chin costume.We are welcomed  with a brief background into their culture  and hear some personal stories of their journeys from Burma into Thailand. Noe thee and  Ya Mi both warm us with a speech translated by Yapa. They both relate how happy they are to have us there and to share their culture and textiles with us. They share their dreams with the group and express how much   working with Emma  has positively impacted on their lives.

Ya Mi says ” I have gotten so many benefits from this work. I learnt skills in design  and colour  matching which is very helpful to me.” By doing work with WEFTshop she has also formed friendships with the  other WEFTshop artisans Noe Thee and Mana.

Noe Thee says because she makes some income from the textile sales it helps her pay rent on her house,also”I am happy to be able to do this and also to get other women to help  do  the work and make an income.”

Then we are in for a very special treat   a lot of family arrive  dressed in traditional  Lahu costume and perform a welcome dance for us  and afterwards we all enjoy dinner together. It’s been a huge day of travelling and learning about textiles and culture. What is most memorable about the day is experiencing the warmth ,courage and generosity of Ya Mi, Nor Thee and their families.

The women on the border experience many challenges in their daily life and at times their security is at risk. By nature a trip to the border requires a flexible attitude. If our activities mean any kind of security risk to the women we will need to change these activities. There is plenty of interesting activities in the area, but we ask that you be prepared for things to be changeable, and remain open minded about what the trip may involve.