THE FALLS - Hundreds of textiles will be featured during a special exhibit this weekend in The Falls.
Fibre Fest: An exhibit of hand-woven village silks and cottons from Thailand and Laos will take place at Balmoral Kirk in The Falls. The sale of fashion accessories, fabric and home décor, and a slideshow and discussion, will be held Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. It's presented by Tammachat Natural Textiles of Mahone Bay.
The South Shore social enterprise, featuring fairly traded and naturally produced cloth, is the brainchild of Alleson Kase and Ellen Agger, whose travels in Thailand and Laos seven years ago brought them face-to-face with rural women's co-operatives and their efforts to alleviate rural poverty, while sustaining their families, communities and culture.
"We were visiting a women's weaving co-op in Northeast Thailand whose members explained to us that after 18 years they now had to limit membership because sales were down," said Kase, a longtime textile collector and former resident of Thailand. "We immediately knew that we wanted to bring this co-op's extraordinary creations to Canadians."
Equally important to the women is telling the story behind the textiles they sell and to open discussions about fair trade, community development and conscious consumerism. Their photo presentations and talks share the story of the women who create the textiles and the techniques they use.
"Each piece combines centuries of local tradition with appropriate technology developed to make the processes sustainable," said Agger.
