SISTERS OF NGARRINDJERI - weaving lives together

After 3400 km across the Australian continent we reach Ngarrindjeri Land, a coastal community near Adelaide. Here the Ngarrindjeri people have lived along the lakes and riversides for thousands of years. The aboriginal basket weaving first started in this area and at Camp Coorong cultural traditions and ancient weaving skills are carried on. 

Auntie Ellen is a passionate Ngarrindjeri weaver running the cultural museum with the help of her family. She learned how to weave 33 years ago and never stopped since. Weaving goes like a thread through the women in her family and she is now passing on the knowledge through weaving workshops.  

The grass used for weaving is called rushes and grow near the seaside. 

Earlier rushes could be found every where in the area, but due to cultivation of the land and severe draughts some years ago, the rushes are harder to find these days. The rushes are dried for 2-3 weeks and soaked in warm water before weaving to become flexible. The rushes remind me of the grass (säv) used for weaving in my homearea in Finland and the baskets are suprisingly similar in expression. 

“Stitch by stitch, circle by circle. Weaving is like the creation of life, all things are connected" Auntie Ellen explains as she shows me how to weave. She's a patient teacher who sees teaching as her calling and as a way to keep the Ngarrindjeri culture alive. "Once people try weaving themselves, they truly appreciate the craft."

I couldn't agree more... 

I find it peculiar that I had to come all the way to the other side of the world to learn a weaving technique so similar to the one done in my home area. Maybe it's sometimes necessary to go via another culture, in order to fully appreciate your own. 

“When you are weaving you start small. Like your own family, as you weave out it’s like you are adding your grand children and then your relatives. The weaving binds them all together close to your heart. 

Auntie Eileen McHughes / Ngarrindjeri Weaver

TJANPI DESERT WEAVERS

Tjanpi Desert Weavers is an inspiring evidence of women craftmanship and creativity. What begun in 1995 as a project to create meaningful work for aboriginal women in remote parts of central Australia, has grown into a successful non-profit organization that today provides income for over 400 Aboriginal women artists in 28 communities. 

Fibre art is traditionally not made in Central Australia, but thanks to Tjanpi the interest for basket weaving is growing. Colored grass, feathers and other natural materials are made into baskets and sculptures with a truly unique and artistic expression. The women are paid upfront for their artwork which can be found in galleries and craft shops throughout Australia. 

Even if Tjanpi isn't part of our project is was a joyful experience to visit their gallery and shop in Alice Springs and listen to their story. A selection of their charming artworks can be purchased from their online gallery at http://www.tjanpi.com.au/. 

photos: Tjanpi Desert Weavers

SISTERS OF ARNHEM LAND

May has been a busy but exciting month for us, when we embarked on a road trip through the Australian continent to explore the aboriginal craft culture. For two weeks we drove 5400 kms from Darwin to Melbourne, visiting selected art and craft centers and met up with basket weavers in north, central and south Australia. A memorable trip through a magnificent Australian outback that  gave us a valuable insight into the aboriginal culture and traditional ways of living today. 

Many of the indiginous communities are situated in remote and restricted areas where non-aboriginal people need permits to enter. Living close with nature the aboriginal people can maintain the cultural and spiritual traditions of their anscestors. Most of the art and craft centers are aboriginal owned and play an important role in the cultural lives of these remote communities.

An extra long wet-season this year with massive floodings has made many communities in Arnhem Land inaccessible by road until just recently. Injalak Art and Craft Center in Oenpelli about 300 kms east of Darwin, is one of them. Situated in a truly beautiful area, surrounded by wide flood plains, spectacular rock formations with ancient rock paintings and billabongs. Bordering onto the true magical Kakadu National Park, it is the home of an aboriginal community of about 1400 inhabitants.

Injalak started 25 years ago and today about 200 local artists produce traditional fibre art, textile printing and paintings. Basket weaving is considered women's business while painting and textile printing is mainly done by men. All artists are paid up front for their work and the profit goes directly to the community. We met up with a few women artists to learn about traditional basket weaving.

The baskets are made from the leaves of the Pandanus tree which are typical for Arnhem Land area where fibre art has a very long tradition. In the early days the baskets were used to carry food and weaving materials but now they are mainly made to make a living and to keep the craft tradition alive.

The fibers are still dyed in a natural way with local berries, seeds and plants and are woven into colorful fibre objects. The colors of the baskets depend on the dyes available at the time, and baskets made in the wet season are usually brighter in color than the ones made during the dry season. Weaving is a natural part of daily life for the women and basketmaking gives them a fairly good income.

 The weaving skills are taught from mothers to daughters and granddaughters and with that a wealth of knowledge and cultural traditions are passed on.

“I ask them, What is this? They say, It’s a basket. I say, It’s not a basket, it tells a story, like you might write a story in a book. But without books. We have our hands and the basket - the colors and patterns in a basket are like letters, commas, capital letters. They are the message. With the diffrent colours, the different stichings, you start from small up and up and up. It’s like going through the university. 

...

When my grandmothers collected food, they saved it in a basket and shared it. Now we are putting our knowledge in the basket and we share it - mother to grandchildren - and now you have to share it with your family. Our stories are stories about connections between all women. It doesn’t matter which colour, we’re all the same. “

Lak Lak Burarrwanga / Weaving lives together at Bawaka 

Read more about Injalak Arts and Crafts on their webpage www.injalak.com

MAASAI MODERN - SIDAI DESIGNS

SIDAI DESIGNS is an inspiring mix of traditional women craft and contemporary design. Sidai Designs is a non-profit organization, founded by American designer Eszter Rabin in 2011 that works for sustainable employment and education among maasai women in northern Tanzania. Traditional beading skills are combined with modern aesthetics into beautiful accessories that appeal to the western market. The maasai women receive fair income for their work as well as education in reading, writing, Swahili and English. Their guiding values describes the essence of sustainable women craft. 

EMPOWERING WOMEN - We believe in empowering and supporting women in their community by creating a sense of purpose and hope through sustainable employment.

PRESERVING TRADITIONS - We believe in preserving the rich cultural heritage and beading skills of the Maasai that have been their mark of beauty and prosperity for centuries.

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT - We believe in providing a long-term solution to poverty by creating employment opportunities.

ENVIRONMENTAL AWARENESS - We believe in limiting our impact by using mostly recycled materials and educating our women about the importance of preserving the land.

FAIR WAGES - We believe in paying a fair income that allows the women to cover not only their basic needs and medical expenses but also education for their children and savings for their families.

EDUCATING A WOMAN IS EDUCATING A VILLAGE - We believe that when a woman is educated, it’s more likely that she will educate her children, which in turn benefits the community as a whole.

THE POWER OF ART AND CREATIVITY - We believe that creativity increases opportunities for self-expression and enjoyment, increases a sense of self-esteem, and builds social capital.

Read more about their work at www.sidaidesigns.com/ and support women craft by purchasing their beautiful accessories at http://shop-sidaidesigns.com/

photos: www.sidaidesigns.com

SISTERS OF LONGIDO

We are currently working on a project book about SISTERS OF CRAFT that hopefully will be finished in time for the exhibition in August. More information about the exhibition will come. As we're going through the photos we feel so grateful for all what the project has brought us in terms of travels, meetings with inspiring cultures and amazing people. For instance the maasai women of Longido in eastern Tanzania.

Longido is a small village at the foot of Mount Longido which offers a unique glimpse into the extraordinary maasai culture. An intriguing culture known for it's brave warriors, rich cultural traditions and colorful beading craft. We went there to visit a group of women artists and learn more about the lives and craft of the maasai women.

In the maasai culture, marriage is an arranged affair where the grooms family receive a certain amount of animals for the bride. The wealth of the maasai men are counted by how many cattle and wives he has. Between 5-10 wives is common and they all live together in traditional bomas. The life of the maasai women is challenging. The men are in charge of the cattle but the rest is the womens responsibility, which means building huts, cultivating, raising children and crafting. Only the men receive education, "for women there's no need".

Twelve years ago the women of Longido started a craft community to increase the income for their families and create better opportunities for their children. Today about 60 women are part of the network and their delicate beadwork are sold to tourists and locals. 

Crafting gives the women money for food and medicine plus offers a moment of rest from their daily duties. It also has an important social aspect as the craft connects the women to each other. And it's only by working together that the maasai women will be able to make changes and improve their own and their daughters lives in a man dominated society. 

STRING THEORY - contemporary fibre art

Back in Darwin after our Bali adventure we are now continuing our work with aboriginal handcraft and culture within Arnhemland, Northern Australia. The Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory is currently showing an interesting exhibition called STRING THEORY that brings fibre and art into a contemporary context. Over 30 artists and artist groups from all around Australia present a mixed range of artworks; such as sculptures, photos, paintings and videos.

The exhibition expands the traditional meaning of fibre art. Many of the artworks are made of natural string and String Theory refers to the physical material but also to the concept of bringing people and ideas together. Here are some of the artworks...

THREADS OF LIFE - empowering women through traditional weaving arts

Several times during this journey we've realized the importance of finding the right people to cooperate with. Our adventure in Bali wouldn't have been the same without Threads of Life - an Indonesian Textile Arts Center, getting us in contact with the weavers and helping us with practical issues, like finding our translator Gus.

  

Threads of Life is working together with more than 1000 women weavers in over 40 cooperatives throughout Indonesia. Their goal is to preserve and support the traditional weaving and natural dying skills by restoring pride in the Indonesian textile art and culture. Woven textiles have a long and significant cultural and spiritual tradition in Indonesia. But "as economic forces drive weavers to abandon time honored traditions, the arts degrade and so do the culture they express. Supporting the continuation of these arts demonstrates they have value in a modern, global context. This restores people's pride in their culture and ensures that the traditions supporting their physical and spiritual life continue". 

By working directly together with the weavers the women get a fair income from their work and are able to support their families. This also empowers the women's situation in a traditional man dominated society. Further does the use of natural dyes and handspun threads support local organic farming of cotton and other dye plants. 

By textile tours and educational exhibits, Treads of Life spreads the art of the Indonesian textiles to a global audience. Their inspiring textile gallery and shop in Ubud is definitely worth a visit. More information on their webpage: www.theradsoflife.com

 A big thank you to Gus - our dedicated and skillful translator