Co-designing with weaving communities in Laos

The overall aim of the design for project was to work with material culture from a traditional Asian perspective, that is to say, a material culture that is deeply connected to its meaning and symbols, indigenous materials, and know-hows that is articulated on material objects to represent one's own connection to the cosmos. The reason Laos was chosen as a research site was because it is one of the few countries that still preserves its relationships to material culture as described above. There are many examples of design groups working to revive the craft around the world; however, most of them are focused on preserving materials and know-hows (UNESCO 2005). The unique aspect of this project is the focus on meanings and symbolism, besides materials and techniques. Weaving communities in Laos are known for their wonderful textiles. In the world we live in today, the decisions regarding the purchase of goods are made based on cost and benefit, and the value of handmade versus machine-made is overlooked by most. As a result, important intangible cultures such as Laos' weaving are slowly vanishing since these practices are no longer in line with our current capitalistic system. However, it is time to re-think the value of the material culture around us due to the environmental impact that materialism has brought to our planet. This project finds value in the traditional Asian handmade practices, aims to learn their values, and establish a design dialogue as a method to find sustainable economical platforms for such practices. The main question of the design for project was: How can designers create a working model with communities to preserve the meanings, materials, and know-hows to celebrate and preserve communities' material culture?