Watch This Space

It's been blazing hot here for days. Today even the breeze was hot. I sit here with the AC on high and it's warm. Toupie walks a few paces before laying down.

The morning commute was a nightmare. I should have listened to the news before leaving for work. It seems a truck containing cooking oil dumped it's contents on U Street between 16th and 14th. The pavement had to be sanded. Although traffic was diverted on some of the north south streets, the spill started or stopped at my street. What a mess.

I treated myself to a Lion Bar today. Very odd. Still trying to figure out the contents. Gooey and crumbly all at the same time.

Now for the Lantern Moon advert from the 2010 July-August Piecework.

In 2007, ideas were solicited from the various programs at work to include indigenous products from the regions where we work in the members' catalogue. After looking at a variety of different products, the woven beaded cloth produced by the Ta Oi women in Vietnam was chosen to represent the Mekong Program. I worked on the project with the field and Marketing to get table scarves woven and beaded as an offering in the holiday catalogue.

In 2008, the opportunity arose for me to travel to Vietnam. The one place I wanted to go was to the village to meet the weavers. I did that at the end of my trip. Spent an afternoon seeing a weaving demonstration, touring the small farms in the mountain valley, and then was treated to an evening of traditional song and dance. Returning to Hue, I was taken to the Hope Center charity shop which employs handicapped people in making everything from uniforms to table cloths to laptop covers. They also support the traditional handicrafts of women like the Ta Oi by incorporating their weaving in items sewn in the shop.

Ta Oi men weave rattan baskets which are used for foraging in the forest
Ta Oi performing traditional song and dance.

A water buffalo grazing.

I was amazed by their skill, excited at the prospect that their traditional craft could be a source of non-forest income. That year, we were able to fund their attendance at the Hue Festival. Last year the women sewed tigers for this year's Year of the Tiger campaign. So retrieving the current issue of Piecework, flipping through the pages as I walked through the halls of my apartment building, I stopped in my tracks when I saw the Lantern Moon advert.

The morning mist shrouding the Ta Oi village.

The rest of the mail was dumped as soon as I returned to my apartment. I immediately went to the Lantern Moon website. Now I knew that Lantern Moon works with village communities in Vietnam to source bamboo knitting needles from sustainable bamboo. As I read about the bags,
I was so excited. Could these be created by "my" women? A few days later, I had confirmation from a colleague in the Hue office. The women have a contract with Lantern Moon to weave the cloth and the bags are made up by the employees of the Hope Center.

Employees at the Hope Center Charity Shop



Traditional Ta Oi Cloth