THAI WEAVERS: PRAE PAN – MANY KINDS OF FABRICS
By Carolyn Jongeward from Newsletter 15, HomeNet International
“Isan hand-weavings; Reflecting local wisdom, in harmony with nature.” These words are printed on the paper shopping bag that contained the hand woven textiles I purchased at the Prae Pan shop in the city of Khon Kaen, north eastern Thailand. The statement continues: “Prae Pan is a people organisation working with weaver groups for women development and alternative marketing. Prae Pan is supported by the Handicraft Centre for Northeastern Women’s Development.” The name Prae Pan, which means ‘many kinds of fabrics’, was given to the organisation in 1997 when it began to be run by the weavers themselves. Approximately two hundred and fifty weavers living in seven villages of Khon Kaen province are now members of Prae Pan.
Prae Pan grew out of a non-governmental organisation (NGO) that started twenty years ago with a focus on women’s issues of health, education, and empowerment. Recognising the weaving skills of the local women, the Northeastern Handicraft and Women’s Development Network (NWD) encouraged the formation of Prae Pan with the objectives to: preserve and teach others the techniques and traditional patterns of hand weaving of the north east; provide a lasting career and steady income for the women; encourage women’s participation in all aspects of community affairs while they co-operate with one another in the weaving project. At the beginning, Prae Pan received strong support from several NGOs for training in design, product, and market development. Now, their products are high quality and the organisation is well known and continues to be an active member of NWD.
The Prae Pan shop is beautiful; shelves on either side of the long narrow room are filled with bolts of natural-dyed cotton and silk cloth and stacks of different products woven in the villages. A low table in the centre of the highly polished dark hardwood floor is both a display area for examining woven products and a meeting place. This is where I met six women: four weavers from different villages, who manage the shop and two consultants, who work with NGOs in different aspects of rural development. Vannee from the village of Ban Lao is book-keeper and shop manager; Khumpoon, from Ban Huafai, is accountant; Khummar, from Ban Nonethong, is salesperson; and Pun. from Ban Suksomboon, is stock keeper and salesperson. Busarin, from Bangkok, was one of the original people to work on establishing the Northeastern Handicraft Centre to help preserve the crafts of the region. During the past eight years of helping village groups to become organised, their messages to the women were: ‘don’t forget the culture’ and ‘do the weaving work’. Darunee, also from Bangkok, is a sustainable agriculture consultant and activist. She wants people in the West to know about the work and living situation of the poor in rural villages, and she calls for the principles of love, care, and learning from one another so that people do not take advantage of each other.