Organic silk and Kheua Piad from Laos
Nikone Nanong established a weaving school in Pak Thab and offered many women the opportunity to set up their own small business. Laos is one of the poorest countries in the world. Plan has been working there since September 2006 and supports the designer Nikone Nanong. There are already more than 100 women who supply “Nikone Handicrafts” with handwoven silk cloths. The threads consist of 100 % organic silk or organic cotton are dyed with natural colouring agents. Sangvane (31, photo) has three sons, who are 2, 6 and 12 years old. She lives about 60 kilometres away from the capital of Vientiane. Her husband Piene (36) is a rice farmer. His small rice-field is one hour away and the yields were not sufficient to feed the family. Since Sangvane started to weave silk for Nikone, the family’s situation has improved. Sangvane can stay at home with her children and earns about 80 dollars per month. Now the family is able to pay for the children’s education and the school materials. They can also buy clothes – between November and January the temperatures drop to 15°C. Then the family members sleep around the fireplace in their wooden hut. They have not yet been able to buy blankets. “Our living conditions have improved considerably thanks to my work. I hope that my children will be better off one day”, says Sangvane. The revenues from the sales of these exclusive products will go to the girls fund.
New from Laos:
In addition to cotton and silk, Nikone Handicrafts started to use the fibres of kheua piad in the year 2000. Kheua piad is a native wild plant in Laos.
Only the inner part of the stalk is being used to spin the thread. The leaves and twigs are being removed and the stalk is being rolled between the palms to produce a thread that is less than one millimetre thick. Before weaving, the threads are cleaned in warm soap water and then they are dyed in the same way as cotton and silk.
The beige fibre is similar to strong linen. Due to its stability it is very suitable to produce bags, purses, book covers, cushions and small accessories. Ms. Nikone is still enthusiastic about the use of the kheua piad fibres.
Nikone Handicrafts helps deprived women in the northern provinces of Laos to earn a regular income by cultivating and processing native plants.
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