OVERS
several successful designs in collaboration with WEFTshop and trained a young woman Lu Mei in beading, sewing and design skills. They have participated in and helped shape more than 45 workshops in design and production. They have trained young unemployed women from Yangon, paid for documentation for young women to train with from which trainee artisans have gained skills and Skilled China weaver, Noe Thee, has developed designs with WEFTshop over several years and trained Lydia and Kil Thee in woven scarf and cushion design as well as Chin weavers in refugee camps. Lydia has since travelled back to Burma's capital Yangon to train young women who have raised in an orphanage and want to develop sewing and design skills.
Another skilled artisan, Ya Mi,
In the past seven years, WEFTshop has run more than 40 workshops in design and production and small business expertise – empowering artisans to improve their lives and help others.
Our work began with NIDA-trained costume maker Emma Kate Wallace meeting Dah Mu who was working hard to support her Karen community. We now work with 22 women who support and train one another small collectives of women working together to combine their traditional techniques with contemporary design.
Training - we have younger women being trained by older, more experienced artisans; in our Lahu group three generations of an extended family are working together.
We now support more than 120 artisans from Chin, Lahu, Kachin and Karen ethnics groups – either directly or by purchasing their textiles through World Fair Trade Organisation (WFTO)-endorsed refugee camp collectives.
WEFTshop works with 22 artisans in three producer groups directly. We also support more than 100 artisans who weave and sew in remote refugee camps.
Our artisans are at the heart of our global family. They are passionate about preserving their traditional skills and passing them on to more women in their communities. The richness of weaving, applique, beading and patchwork expertise celebrates Chin, Lahu, Kachin and Karen culture. Combining their skills with ours, we create designs that are an expression of our shared humanity. Collaborating in this way creates opportunities to work and earn a fair wage.
It is these cultures that are celebrated in every design.Designs are an expression of shared. humanity
A way of sharing skills with the world Creating products Working with WEFTshop is a way to reimagine them to pass on their traditional skills to more women in their community.
believe creativity and collaboration have the power to transform lives
the positive impact that working together has on all of us - whether artisans and their families, volunteers or customers in Australia. We're all part of a process that harnesses the power of creativity and generosity to create change. Our vision is to continue to work together in a way that can support many more artisans to earn a fair living beyond essential needs, share knowledge and preserve cultural traditions, train other artisans, and reach global markets.
Many ethnic groups
Much of Burma's ethnic cultures are at risk
Our artisans worry that their traditions will be lost.
preserve train more women from their communities By working with WEFTshop artisans from four ethnic groups from Burma - Chin, Lahu, Kachin and Karen.
In the beginning we began working with Dah Mu who was working hard to support her Karen community. We now work with 22 women who support and train one another small collectives of women working together to combine their traditional techniques with contemporary design.
Training - we have younger women being trained by older, more experienced artisans; in our Lahu group three generations of an extended family are working together.
We now support more than 120 artisans from Chin, Lahu, Kachin and Karen ethnics groups – either directly or by purchasing their textiles through World Fair Trade Organisation (WFTO)-endorsed refugee camp collectives.
WEFTshop works with 22 artisans in three producer groups directly. We also support more than 100 artisans who weave and sew in remote refugee camps.
In the beginning we began working with Dah Mu who was working hard to support her Karen community. We now work with 22 women who support and train one another small collectives of women working together to combine their traditional techniques with contemporary design.
Training - we have younger women being trained by older, more experienced artisans; in our Lahu group three generations of an extended family are working together.
WEFTshop now supports more than 100 artisans from Chin, Lahu, Kachin and Karen ethnics groups – either directly or by purchasing their textiles through World Fair Trade Organisation (WFTO)-endorsed refugee camp collectives.
In the past seven years, WEFTshop has run more than 40 workshops in design and production and small business expertise – empowering artisans to improve their lives and help others.
WEFTshop’s work continues to address the considerable barriers to employment in the Thai-Burma border region, where there remains millions of people displaced from Burma, many of whom are vulnerable to exploitation and trafficking.
now run 40 workshops in design and production with artisans, recently with the help of a young Burmese-Australian fashion designer May Tin. We sell and market our products in Sydney and online to address the lack of access to sales channels that artisans face.