Looking for cotton and finding it
By Tessa Bunney on 1 December 2012Just got back from another few days up North – this time in Luang Prabang and Oudomxay provinces. The first 3 days I spent with Emi Weir from Artisans du Mekong where we visited several Tai Lue villages that they buy their cotton products from to document the cotton production process. We are planning a small exhibition in their wonderful gallery in Ban Nong Xai – the area known locally as ‘the paper village’ just across the Nam Khan river from Luang Prabang.
Gallery at Artisans du Mekong
We then went our separate ways and I headed further north back to the Tai Dam village of Ban Na Mor to to see their amazing array of local food at the market – and there was me thinking this was possibly the ‘off’ season. There were 23 different products from the forest and garden than in September. Set my portable studio up in someone’s garage while it decided to pour with rain in the dry season! The women were also delighted with the photographs I took back from my last visit.
On my last day I couldn’t resist the temptation to nip over the border to Phongsaly Province and visit some Akha villages to see if they were also processing their cotton yet and was excited to find some the women were already weaving. Textile related activity is an off season activity so finding exactly the right time to visit isn’t an exact science to say the least.
Phongsaly is one of the most traditional and remote areas in Laos and many of the Akha women still wear parts of their traditional dress every day, often only their headdress which they never take off except to wash their hair and they wear even in bed. There are at least 11 ‘categories’ of Akha in Phongsaly but often as in this case of this Akha weaver, they don’t know their ‘category’ which is rather nice even though the ethnologist in me wants to know!
Lov Pou, Akha Ya-er woman in Phongsaly
It’s so wonderful to be able to revisit villages, to be sure photos are going back to those who ask and yet still be able to explore new places.
Also in Phongsaly Province:
Where the jungle meets the rubber plantation