Leaving behind poverty with weaving

A tradition passed on from generation to generation- the art of weaving.

Meekharm has been weaving for 37 years. Her mother started teaching her when she was 8-years-old and she has since kept the tradition alive.

“I’ve always wanted to sell the Lao skirts I made, but no one ever showed interest in them. I would weave for my family or in exchange for rice sometimes,” confided Meekharm.

With little access to markets and creative tools, weaving women had difficulty making profit from their products.

Consequently, Meekharm used to rely on rice harvesting to feed her husband and five children.

She routinely used the slash and burn method for cultivation, leaving her with little time to find food for her family. Everyone in her home suffered from food shortages.

Being unable to send all their children to school was a burden that weighed heavily on these parents’ hearts.

World Vision’s original focus in this village was on building better education facilities and improving access to clean water with a clean water system, but soon staff determined that villagers needed support with income generation. Trainings were created and facilitated in the village for women to learn new and unique ways to earn an income.  

In 2014, Meekharm was chosen to join a traditional weaving training. Lessons on how to weave with a loom were offered to 12 women along with start-up materials for the group. A total of 15,000,000kip ($1,845 USD) was invested in this project.  

Meekharm began weaving more intricate and creative Lao skirts, and finally people wanted to buy her skirts- her handiwork.

The more she sewed, the more she sold. Soon, she was earning enough income to buy food for her entire family– food that greatly improved her children’s health. With the occasional surplus of money, she was able to purchase medicine in times of need.  

“The weaving group is very important and beneficial for women in our village. It creates a stable job for them when the farming season is over. It closes the income gap that exists because of harvest seasons,” says the village chief.

Last year, Meekharm and her daughter earned more than 3,150,000 kip ($397.75 USD) per month. This money allowed her family to buy school materials and a uniform for her youngest son.

“He is my only child studying in school. We will support him as much as we can to complete his studies,” Meekharm shares.

“The weaving group was so valuable to me. It helped improve my family’s living conditions by providing me with valuable knowledge about weaving that is now a sustainable way to assist my family and support my children,” Meekharm adds.

The days of slash and burn are in the past, now the focus is on weaving.

“Female merchants come to the village to buy our products; there is no need to travel to the district center. It’s much easier these days. My daughter and I even began weaving scarves in order to diversify our products!” she added proudly.

This World Vision weaving project has empowered hundreds of women across the country to earn a sustainable income. Women feel confident and proud to be supporting their families with an art form that has been passed on for generations.

Learn more about the power of weaving in this article!