Weaving programs

Creation and development of a weaving programs

Trendethics travaille avec des femmes, tisserandes de génération en génération, vivant dans 8 villages assez isolés en Asie du Sud Est. Nos tisserandes issuent des minorités ethniques sont pour le moment au Laos, en Thailande et au Vietnam. Nous travaillons systématiquement avec des partenaires locaux. Soit nous l'encourageons à créer une coopérative, soit nous l'aidons à développer ses projets existants en lui passant directement des commandes de tissus.

Plus concrètement, lorsque nous créons une nouvelle coopérative, nous essayons simplement de structurer la filière du tissage dans le village, la gestion des commandes de fils, l'organisation et la logistique. Les femmes pour la plupart restent travailler chez elles ou peuvent aussi se retrouver pour travailler dans la maison communale du village.

Trendethics works with women, weavers from generation to generation, living in 8 remote villages in South East Asia. They live in Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam. We systematically work with local partners. Either we encourage them to create a cooperative, or we help them to develop their existing projects by placing orders for fabrics directly with them and helping them improve their marketing & organisation to develop their business.

More concretely, when we create a new program, we simply try to structure the weaving process in the village, sourcing material that is the most sustainable, smanagement of yarn orders, organization and logistics. Most of the women work from home, but they can also meet up to work in the village communal house.

.In Laos: training of young deaf and mute girls.

It is with a workshop, which trains deaf and mute young girls in weaving and sewing in Luang Prabang, that Trendethics develops collections of cotton cushions with traditional Laotian patterns. The cotton is hand-dyed, and today we are working together to develop a catalogue of colours and patterns in order to train them to meet business needs.

.In Vietnam, the Cils, Ede, Jarai and Laos will soon have no more secrets for us!

- The Cils near Da Lat, who live mainly of coffee, still know how to dye cotton in blue, orange, yellow, green and grey.

- The Ede from Buon Ma Thuot, who live mainly from coffee, wish to preserve their know-how and work from home rather than supplementing their income by doing housework for Vietnamese families.

- The Jarai of Pleiku, are a matriarchal society, their red and black patterns are often composed of white flowers.

- The Laos from Dien Bien Phu still cultivate cotton, spin it, know how to dye and weave amazing geometric patterns. TrendEthics works in partnership with Entrepreneurs du Monde to create and structure this cooperative.

.In Cambodia with the Bunong

The Bunong live in the east of Cambodia in the mountains, close to the Vietnamese border. It is with weavers from Dak Dam that trendethics is setting up a weaving program. 4 women wish to complete their income with a know-how they are proud of. In order to help them find customers, trendethics works with them on a catalogue of patterns and prepares a small collection of cushions that will be assembled in the reintegration workshop of the NGO Pour Un Sourire d'Enfants in Phnom Penh.

.In Burma with the Katchin and Karenni.

Marie and Lucie left in February 2020 to meet Burmese weavers. They support the development of a training centre for women and men from the Katchin ethnic group in northern Burma and a cooperative run by a woman from the Karenni ethnic group (Kayah state) who wants to redevelop natural dyes. trendethics hopes to offer Burmese collections by 2021.

In Thailand with the Karens

In 2019, a collection of cushions woven by Karen minorities in a cooperative in Mae Woei Clo in northeastern Thailand near the Burmese border was developed.

TrendEthics plays the role of incubator

Trendethics plays the role of incubator for women from ethnic minorities to help them develop their local activities, especially weaving. Women need first of all to have confidence in themselves and in the possibility of having an income with their skills! TrendEthics supports women in setting up and developing their local business, ordering handicraft products that are sold online and helps them find other business development opportunities.

A circular economy

Weaving cooperatives are set up by trendethics and a local partner (if they do not already exist), who is familiar with the local culture and needs. Then trendethics orders a catalogue of colours and patterns and then fabrics from the women. These fabrics are sewn in France by the workshop, Fer et Refaire, that employs rehabilitating women. The cushions are sold online and in pop up stores and 5% of the sales fund local projects of eduaction, environment and empowerment.

The life of an sustainable and fair cushion