By Catherine Craig | CPALI President
The news is in! SEPALI Madagascar team is now weaving raffia textile on a new peddle loom made from 4 pieces of bamboo, old mosquito nets twisted into rope, eau vive water bottle weights -- and the results couldn't be more beautiful.
Our newest team member, Katia, has taken the lead in weaving on our new loom. Due to family illness and the loss of school fees, Katia has moved from Tana to Maoronatsetra until she can resume her schooling. She quickly found her way to SEPALI! When Docey Lewis arrived on the scene for a second visit in April and to teach team members how to weave, Katia was first in line. She is now leading the effort producing woven textiles in a beauty of patterns. These are not just ordinary mats but mats woven from newly dyed raffia. The team is using new dying techniques, colors and patterns, all learned from Docey, that will be incorporated into new textile products for shoes, handbags, placemats and beyond! Hopefully Katia will use her earnings to move on in school - who knows what her future might be with SEPALI - we are keeping our fingers crossed.
In addition to a new treadle loom made by Docey and that is being duplicated by the team, the team is also card weaving. Card-weaving is an old Egyptian form of weaving using "tablets" or cards and best of all does not require electricity. It will be perfect for village activity. Colorful threads of silk, raffia and cotton are lined up in symmetric patterns othat result in decorative ribbons or braids whose breadth depends on number of cards selected. Lalaina learned how to thread the cards and balance tensions to make the patterns Docey approved. We can't wait to see what Lalaina comes up withon her own.
Finally, riffing on last year's dyeing techniques, the team had diversified its "Makira Moons" to Makira Sun, Makira moon over water, etc. These beautiful pieces are on display at ICFF in New York May 21-24 in the International artisans booth! Stop by the International Artisans Booth if you happen to be in New York- today, tomorrow or Wednesday! Otherwise, get in touch with the Tucker Robbins gallery in New York!
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