New video: sustainable bamboo

[Ellen Agger]

Bamboo is touted to be a sustainable fabric, yet it must be highly processed with large chemical or mechanical inputs to create soft fabrics. Instead, we found a much more sustainable way to use bamboo: harvest it in ways that you can continue to harvest over long periods of time, soak the bamboo, then peel the skin and weave it into baskets.

I just posted a new video on TAMMACHAT's YouTube Channel: Weaving Organic Bamboo Baskets in Laos: http://www.youtube.com/user/tammachattextiles

Description of the video:
Join us on a tour of a village in Vientiane Province, Laos, home to a 250-member basket weaving group. Working with the support of Saoban, which helps village groups market their crafts, men in the village harvest bamboo sustainably from nearby forests. Women then skillfully weave the peeled skin of bamboo into handwoven baskets for many uses, bringing much-needed income to this village. You can buy handbags made from these baskets, fairly traded by TAMMACHAT Natural Textiles at www.tammachat.com.

Comments welcome.

In fair trade,
Ellen Agger
TAMMACHAT Natural Textiles
www.tammachat.com