An average family in Burma is made up of four people. 38% are farming families and live off less than $300 a month. However, adequate nutrition, healthcare and education for four costs around $750. Our mission is to close this gap through consistent orders.
These families are some of the most talented artisans in the world. Their products are made slowly, by hand, using techniques passed down through generations. They are made to last and each piece is unique.
However, many of these makers live in remote, rural communities, where the demand for their products is dwindling. Cheap, factory made imports are undercutting their trade, often forcing them into unskilled farming to supplement their income. Our mission is to reverse this.
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Hi! I’m Shine Myo Aung.
I’m one of Kalinko’s Master Crafters.
Hello! We are Kalinko's Backstrap Weavers.
We used to weave in our homes, but now that we are weaving for Kalinko we sit together. The workshop is in the middle of the village, so it's easy to get to. We gossip all day long, and lots of people drop in and out throughout the day - it's very sociable!
Our village is very remote. The nearest town is a two hour drive away and it takes two days by bus to get to Yangon.
We mostly eat rice, and any vegetables we grow. Sometimes if we go to the nearest town we buy some dried fish from the market. This lasts a long time, so we can put a little bit into each meal for extra flavour.
We tie the ends of the threads to something stationary, then pull them tight with our waist at the other end. So our bodies are part of the loom and we weave on our laps, passing the thread back and forth from right to left between the strands. This means that the fabric is never much wider than us, which is why most of Kalinko's cushions are about 45cm wide.
The pattern is dictated by horizontal sticks which we lift up and down in turn. You have to concentrate quite hard if it's a complicated pattern, but often we know the pattern so well we can almost do it without looking! We have inherited the patterns from our grandparents, who learnt them from their grandparents.
Once the whole loom is filled, you end up with about 2 metres by 50cm of fabric. This takes about two weeks. We make lots and lots of these in all sorts of patterns.
We spend a long time every few months with the Kalinko team discussing which patterns to make, and which colours to choose.
When we have a big enough pile of fabrics, we send them to Yangon where the seamstresses make them into cushions, ready for their journey to the UK, and their new homes. We love seeing photos of our fabrics with happy customers in far away places.
If you've already got some Kalinko cushions, you can share them on Instagram or Facebook and tag us @kalinkohome, then the team in Yangon will send them to us!
And if you haven't got any yet....
Thanks for reading our story!
Ps. all our amazing photos were taken by the enormously talented Pyae Phyo Zaw!
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