Preamble: Our family first met the silk weavers of Houaphon Province, Laos in 2007 on our first trip gathering inventory for our newly-founded business, Above the Fray. We’ve now visited some 20 times, and Maren has become special, committed friends – in Lao, seo – with three incredible women who grew up together in the silk-weaving village of Xam Tai: Souksakone and Phout, who maintain separate businesses but are both long-recognized as the two premier silk dyers, weavers, designers, and business-people in the district, and Malaithong, who didn’t enjoy weaving and instead went to college, learned English, earned an M.A. in Rural Development in Japan, and for the last 4 years has been Houaphon Province’s Director of Tourism Development. Malaithong has been our trusted translator, guide, and all-around opener of doors (it seems she personally knows everyone in the district). In 2016, all three had the opportunity to visit America to participate in Santa Fe’s International Folk Art Market. Souksakone and Malaithong visited again in 2018.

This holiday season, because of travel restrictions, all four friends could only meet using Messenger and WhatsApp to share time and gather, select, pay for, pack, and air freight new silks for our 2021 Holiday Sale. Not only does this give Above the Fray some new incredible textiles to share, but it helps the bottom line for many weavers, silk raisers, and natural-dyers in Xam Tai during this difficult pandemic year.

Over the years, the relationship between the four women has grown trusting and personal, and they share a special affection, respect, and sense of humor. The four women, indeed, are seo. And even though Maren knows only a little Lao, and Souksakone and Phout speak no English, these four strong, confident women together light a spark that could power a mid-sized village.

Malaithong recently offered a most reasonable explanation for this bond:

The Four Sisters (told by Malaithong)

“Long ago, before we were born, there were four sisters who lived in the sky, and they loved each other very much. They laughed and sang together, and their hearts were full. 

“Then there was a great storm…” – and here Malaithong lifts her right hand over her head, lets out a long-winded “Whoo-o-o-osh”, and swirls her arm downward, tracing the outline of a tornado.

“The wind was so ferocious that the sisters could not all hold onto each other, and they were flung wide to different places. Three of the sisters clung together, and landed in Laos, here in Xam Tai, where they were born and grew up as seo – whole-hearted friends. But the fourth sister? Hah! She was blown a long distance and landed across the world, and she was born in America. 

“None of the sisters knew of their loss, of course, because it all happened before they were born. 

“Then, behold! Many years later – a miracle! A stranger woman, a falang (westerner) with her husband and two young sons, walks into their village interested in silk and friendships, and – well, who can explain it? –  suddenly the four sisters had found each other! They knew they were seo.

“Now their hearts are full, and the four sisters can laugh and sing together again.”

The Holidays Are A -Comin’!

Well, it has been rather a tough year, with covid running rampant.  We couldn’t visit our artisan friends in Laos and Vietnam, they’re struggling without any tourists staying in their homestays or guest houses and purchasing their textile art, all of our shows were cancelled again, and we’ve had to make the tough call to cancel our February/March Village Textile Tour for 2022.  

However, there are some bright spots!

First, we are opening our in-home gallery for sales starting Friday, November 19, an we’ll be open until the New Year!  Our inventory is expansive thanks to prescient shopping early last year – lots of new treasures to peruse! There are two ways to shop:

1. Personal zoom shopping by appointment for those who want to enjoy shopping in the safety of their home, or who live too far away to visit in person.
2. In-person appointments for customers, one person/pod at a time, at the Above the Fray Gallery, 2141 Crest Drive in Eugene. The gallery room, with our full-size Lao loom, looks wonderfully colorful and inviting. Masks are required.

To make an appointment, contact us at maren@hilltribeart.com or call/text 541-686-4285.

Second, we have some new, large silk Shaman Cloths and Story Cloths coming from Laos!  They are, right now, in transit from Vientiane, Laos, and DHL (the only mail delivery company flying out of Laos at this time), says they will be delivered this Friday!

So, how did this miracle happen without a visit? It has been a wild ride.  

During the pandemic, customers have been purchasing more of the large silk shaman cloths on-line.  We are starting to run out of them and thought, if we could possibly purchase some from our friends in Laos, we would not only be able to meet our customers’ needs, but also put some much-needed cash into the Xam Tai economy.  

We started by calling our friend/translator Malaithong, the Director of Tourism Development for Houaphan Province, Laos, who grew up in Xam Tai where many of our stunning, traditional silk textiles are made.  She was best friends growing up with Souksakhone and Phout, two of the renown artisans of the area (and whom we have known for 14 years).  

We told her that we were needing some new textiles from Xam Tai, and would she be willing to help us.  Long story short, she went to Xam Tai, stayed with Souksakhone and Phout, and sent pictures, video chatted with me about each of the textiles, and did the meticulous measuring, hanging, and other quality checks we do ourselves in person to assure that the stunning pieces meet our standards.  While it was scary to have someone else help us with the purchases, Malaithong has been watching and helping us buy textiles in Xam Tai for over 10 years and has been learning what is most important to us and our customers.  The photos she sent allowed us to make color and design choices, and she was able to complete the other quality checks.  We were able to send payment to Malaithong, and she paid the weavers in Xam Tai.  We also, of course, paid Malaithiong for her expenses and time.

Malaithong then sent the textiles by courier to our trusted shipper of 14 years, Lao Freight Forwarders in Vientiane, Laos (our contact now, Ekkasan, is the son of our first contact, Sithat, both of whom have provided excellent service), and he packaged and did all the import paperwork required to ship our box via DHL.  Our Customs Broker in the US is alerted, and all is a go.  Having established, trusted relationship is the only reason this has all worked.

Magic!  

So, not only are we getting new textiles during covid, but we were able to get money into Xam Tai while their textile sales are down from the lack of tourism.  Paying for textiles not only gets money into the hands of our friends who naturally-dyed the silk and designed and made the pattern templates for their textiles, but also ensures that the money also goes to the weavers, natural dye collectors, sericulturists, and others involved in the creation of each lovely piece.

We can’t wait to see them in real life – birthday, Christmas, Hannukah, and News Years all at once!  And they will be ready to be seen and purchased this weekend after we open for safe, in person shopping and personal zoom appointments later this week.

Third, so, what about our friends in Vietnam?

Early in 2021, we asked Thi, our Hmong friend and textile artist in Lao Cai Province, Vietnam, if she would be willing to do some purchasing for us of the stunning batik and embroidery textiles made and worn in the region.  We are paying her for the time and effort to collect the textiles, leaving the decisions of what to buy up to her, though she often will send us a picture of something she thinks we will like to get our approval. She is also able to buy from relatives and neighbors, who have textiles we can use, thus keeping her community in money too.

Additionally, I was also able to submit a grant application through the Weave A Real Peace (WARP) organization (where I am also a Board Member), and Thi and her family, whom we have known for 16 years, received a $500 covid relief grant.  Thi spread the money throughout her extended family, and, with her portion of the dollars, was able to buy rice seed and grow the year’s supply of rice for her own family!  

Many of the weavers and textile artists throughout Laos and Vietnam live in rural areas, and many are also farmers.  There’s nothing like a recent history of wars and political upheaval to keep people close to the land and focussed on being able to feed their own families. So, most of our friends have their own rice fields and are able to grow much of their own food. In the larger towns like Luang Prabang, Laos, 75% work in the tourism industry, and they are having a harder time coping with the country being shut down. We have prepaid other artist friends for some other items we usually purchase in an effort to get dollars into the hands of some of our artist friends there too during the pandemic.  

Finally, with the Vietnam government saying they will be opening to tourists in June, 2022, and Laos in lockdown but rapidly vaccinating their population (they hope to reach greater than 50% vaccinated by year’s end), we have had to cancel out tour for 2022. However, we have opened two tours: for February/March 2023, and again in 2024.  We feel much more confident that these tours will happen given the vaccination rates and opening prognoses of these two countries. The 2023 tour is almost full from those who had originally signed up for the 2022 tour. I can’t wait for both countries to open and to bring a group to experience the wonderful people, landscapes, and arts of these countries. If you are interested in signing up for either the February/March 2023 or 2024 Above The Fray Cultural Textile Tour or are looking for more information on the tours, please contact us at maren@hilltribeart.com.

Happy Holidays to everyone, and we hope to hear from everyone who wants to say howdy and catch up, or who wants to do a little quality, personal shopping.

Sincerely from Above the Fray,

Maren (and Josh, too!)

On our first Asian adventure in 2005, our family of four – mom, dad, and 12 and 9-year-old sons – made a pact: If you want to tell the story about the weird food, you had to try it.  No try, no story.  

Thus, as we travelled overland through Vietnam and Laos, we savored the flavors and stories of our culinary curiosity: the piquancy of stewed bamboo rat, the pungency of steamed bat, the “squish-plosion” of thumb-sized bamboo grubs, the crackle of beetles’ shells, the pastiness of cooked tadpoles, the thick sweetness of duck blood, the soft crunch of ant eggs. 

Chilies, garlic, and ginger; bitter, sour, astringent, pungent – it’s all fair game.  If it crawls, slithers, swims, flies, wiggles, or walks, then it’s got guts, bones, meat, fat, and skin.  And you can call it dinner.

In fairness, many local traditional dishes are excellent. Fresh steamed greens, from sweet spinaches to spicy mustards to bitter morning glory, are served at most meals.  Souksakone’s catfish soup with tamarind leaf is a knock-out, and a prepared chicken is only an hour older than its clucking self.  Every meal comes with copious baskets of sticky rice, and every table has a djeow, a spicy dipping sauce. However, delicious faire does not a story make.  

All’s fair when it comes to new friendships, so our family decided, on our fifth visit to Xam Tai, Laos (home to many incredible handwoven silks that support the import business we started in 2007), it was time to introduce our Lao hosts and friends to American cuisine.

Our first thoughts were to push flavor boundaries, as our own boundaries seemed so pushed in Laos. We considered powerful, sharp flavors that appeal to the palate of a falang (foreigner): aged bleu cheese, sour dill pickles, balsamic vinegar on uncooked lettuce, Fruit Loops with whole milk…

Then we reconsidered: Better to gain trust with flavor and texture rather than look for a laugh. Rather, let’s woo them with a great meal. Something unique, and richly persuasive. 

And so, for our first han falang (“meal of the foreigners”) we sought to capture the flavors and presentation of the quintessential “American Breakfast” for about 25 Lao weaving friends and their families.

We hauled most of the meal across the Pacific Ocean: a 10 pound bag of pancake mix, a bottle of safflower oil, a wide pancake turner, a large stainless steel frying pan (a wok wasn’t going to work), 25 metal forks from Goodwill, and paper plates. Maren splurged on 2 lb. of ground French roast and 5 lb. of apple-smoked bacon. Airline security must have laughed when the read the note on our ice-packed insulated box: “Frozen Bacon. Please rewrap securely!!”

Our friend Souksakone offered her home and kitchen for the event, and several local weavers who knew us arrived early to share company and cooking chores. 

Coffee was first on the agenda, and the dark roast aroma drew remarks from everyone.  While Laos does grow coffee (primarily in the far south), the people of Xam Tai rarely indulge and, when they do, it is a thick chocolaty brew blended with sweetened condensed milk. Steaming mugs were passed around, and the laughter and voices grew a little louder.

Souksakone got a second fire going to the side of her outdoor cooking area as Maren and Malaithong, our local translator, stirred up the pancake batter, adding several local fresh eggs. A first pound of bacon sizzled when it hit the hot wok. Phout, with a wide grin, put her whole face over wok, breathed deeply, and then exhaled a paragraph of high-toned Lao words that had everyone laughing.

Lun and Sukkhavit took charge of cooking the pancakes, greasing the frying pan with lard and pouring on the thick batter.  Maren put our 14-year-old son, Zall, in charge of the fruit salad, and several others joined to cut local mangoes and bananas that were added to the pears and apples we had bought two days earlier in Hanoi.  

Everyone was laughing and chopping and flipping and stirring.  More bacon hit the pan, another pot of coffee appeared, a dozen more eggs were cracked and scrambled.  

Several tables were put end to end outside in an area usually reserved for parking.  Hamman, Souksakone’s husband, had starting setting bowls at each place setting, but Maren quickly stepped in: “Bo, bo, bo,” (“no, no, no”) she laughed, and she handed Hamman the paper plates.  Maren had Malaithong explain to everyone that this was an American breakfast – a han falang – and that we were all going to eat like Americans, buffet-style. Everyone laughed again. Phout clapped Maren on the back and expressed a rhapsodic sentence that drew more laughter. “She says,” Malaithong translated, “This big long table, right here in front of us, is now in America, not in Laos.” And everyone laughed again when we laughed.

Plates were heaped with pancakes, bacon, scrambled eggs and ladlefuls of fruit salad. Maren took charge of pouring the real maple syrup. People were amazed that a tree could produce something so sweet. Two quarts of Vermont’s best just stretched through the one meal.

“Do Americans eat like this at every meal?” asked Lun.  We explained that this was a fancy meal, something that friends and family would do together on a special occasion. Everyone nodded.  

Phout sat down and mindlessly reached for her top pancake with her hand. “Bo, bo, bo,” cried Maren. She held up her fork and said in English: “In America, everyone eats with a fork!” and she proceeded to show Phout how to use the side of a fork to cut pancakes. More gales of laughter, and another pot of coffee arrived.

Everyone had seconds; Bounkeo, Lun’s husband, had thirds.  

Sukkhavit got Malaithong’s attention for a translation: “I have tried American food before, and did not like it. But this is very good.” There were lots of nods.  

“I could eat like this every day,” chimed Bounkeo, leaning back in his chair.

“No, no,” laughed Maren. “You wouldn’t like it because soon you would be very fat,” and she puffed out her cheeks. Malaithong translated and again there were hoots of laughter.

Everyone insisted that on the next visit we bring another han falang. Maren offered to bring a dinner, prompting a discussion about how in America we eat different foods at different meals. 

Afterwards, Malaithong claimed the frying pan, Souksakone the pancake turner and forks; requests were made for additional utensils to be brought on or next visit.  Hamman laid dibs on the unconsumed ½ pound of Starbucks.

Now, over several years, our friends in Xam Tai have sampled hamburgers with buns (Heinz ketchup gets a big thumbs up), spaghetti with meatballs (as if eating pancakes with a fork is funny), cold potato salad (unanimously deemed “awful”), bean chili with Fritos (“Where are the chilies?” they asked), and hot dogs with sauerkraut (nothing canine, we confirmed). 

I think we’ve gained their trust now, and it seems they’ll try most anything – at least once (How else can you tell the story?). Including, on this last trip, a ripe, slightly-fuzzy bleu cheese.  

Above the Fray: Traditional Hill Tribe Art is excited to announce 2020’s “Fine Silks and Tribal Art Safe Holiday Sale.” You will be able to visit us in our Eugene Gallery either in-person or online with a personal shopping visit via Zoom or FaceTime. The event starts Friday, November 20, and will run through December.

Despite needing to cancel our annual events at public venues this Fall in Portland, Sacramento, and Eugene, we do have exciting new hill tribe textiles and other treasures for you to peruse and consider for your holiday shopping.

“New stuff?” you wonder. “How is this possible?” Well, Maren dashed over to Laos and Vietnam in late February and early March – just as the pandemic was starting – and squeaked in a visit to our friends across northern Laos and in northern Vietnam. She managed a “full shop” before escaping home on one of the last regular flights out of Hanoi, lugging with her all the Vietnam inventory.

Our newly-acquired inventory in Laos wasn’t quite so lucky. The day in March it was to ship air-freight was the day Thai Airlines stopped all flights in or out of Laos. Thus, there sat our 15 large boxes of silks, baskets, wood carvings, and more on the tarmac, pre-paid, awaiting a return to normalcy. And awaiting….

We were patient … and then more patient – and we obliquely aligned with the relaxed “go with the flow” attitude that pervades much of the pace of traditional Lao life.

However, ultimately, we are also pragmatic. With no “return to normal” date; with nightmares of the humid Lao air invading and possibly mildewing our shipment; with the bottom-line realization that the weavers and others we help support, as well as our business, actually do depend on sales 🤨; with all this in mind, we sought an alternate shipping procedure. As is the nature of the business world, more cash put more grease on the wheels (and wings) of commerce, and, as the photos document, our boxes arrived in good shape, sans mildew, at our home just this week.

OK – so now that we have the goods (whew!), we are organizing the details of our Holiday event. We will use our own in-home gallery space for layout and display. Eugene shoppers may visit in person (by appointment only, with masks, one person/pod at a time). For our many friends who cannot visit in person, we will offer personal shopping with us using Zoom or Facetime – just contact us to set an appointment. We are also putting together a series of short videos on our website for those who want to “peruse the aisles” before contacting us.

Again, we open November 20 – and we’ll send out formal invitations in a couple of weeks. We trust you are safe and well, and we look forward to sharing some personal time with you this holiday season.

At the beginning of February, Maren and I recognized that our usual, annual trip to the hill tribe villages of Laos and Vietnam might be hampered by the distant news of a viral pandemic. Rather than waiting until March (when I was free to go), Maren opted to leave early (anticipating possible future closure), and I chose to remain home to ensure that our Eugene “world” ran smoothly even if Maren was delayed returning. Both of us could not be caught on our regular Asian “business trip” in the event of future border closure.

Maren

While I did not get the enjoy a visit to friends and participate in our continuing learning and documentation of the silk, hemp, and cotton weavers of the region, Maren did manage to zoom through several of our regular villages for textiles and other tribal arts just prior to border closures, returning home a week earlier than anticipated.

What was it like visiting these villages on the cusp of a pandemic?  Here is Maren’s report:

Well, yes, I was nervous about visiting countries abutting the source of Covid-19.  It was a tough decision to proceed but missing the chance to see and support our artist friends didn’t feel like an option.  So, off I went.

All went smoothly flying to Vietnam.  Remote temperature checks going through Korea, but no personal stops, though I had to fill out a health survey upon arrival in Noibai Airport in Hanoi.  I wore a mask throughout my flights and in airports, and wiped down everything I could at my plane seat with alcohol wipes.

I spent a day in Hanoi, acclimatizing to the time zone and checking in with our friends who provide textiles and other tribal arts we can’t obtain elsewhere.  All expressed concern about being able to survive the decrease in tourism, evident even at the end of February in Hanoi.  Everyone was cautious and most locals wore face masks (though almost no tourists did).  Masks are often worn in large cities in Asia against air pollution, so most locals were happy to comply with wearing them against Covid-19.  A friend who stocks many small items we purchase in Hanoi even offered me 5 cloth face masks for free out of concern for my health while traveling for this trip.  Our friends in Asia are so kind!

A Hanoi street vendor prepares to make my breakfast of herb filled omelet in a baguette, all for less than a dollar!  I sat on a stool in front of a coffee stall and watched.  Note the wooden bar and baskets holding all of the tools of her trade, including the stove.

The next morning, I left Hanoi on a taxi booked through our good friend Mr. The’ who owns the E.T. Pumpkin travel agency.  Lovely, though long, drive to the border with stops for coffee and lunch.  When I arrived at the Vietnam border, they asked me for my passport before even getting into the visa check room.  Upon examining it, the border guard said I couldn’t go to Laos as I didn’t have a Laos visa.  I explained that, for the last 15 years, we had crossed at that border and obtained our visas at the Laos side as we crossed and didn’t need to have a visa ahead of time.  He disagreed.  I took back my passport and stomped, rather perturbed, to the visa room.  There, he showed me a sign that said that travelers could not cross into Laos without having a visa ahead of time, and that the effective date of that ruling was January 1, ostensibly due to Covid-19.  I told him that that was not true.  I had checked the Laos embassy site, and this border crossing had absolutely no notification of needing to have a visa in advance.  After pointing to the sign many times, he pulled me into another room, where a border guard with better English explained that that was the rule and there were no changes allowed.

I called our friend Malaithong (Mai), who was waiting on the Laos side of the border for me with a car and asked her.  She hadn’t heard of the visa requirement, even though she is the Director of Tourism Development for Houaphan Province, which borders Vietnam at this border point.  I called Mr. The’, who said Mai may be able to call the Laos visa office and have them quickly make me a visa and e-mail it to the border office.  Despite many phone calls, the effort was to no avail.  Mai ended up driving back to her home two hours from the border, and I ended up having to drive the 7 hours back to Hanoi in my cab.  There, Mr. The’ had arranged for a one-day visa for me with the Laos Embassy, and a staff member came to my hotel the next morning to pick up my passport, and then returned it that evening complete with Laos visa.  The next day I took the same cab (very sweet and kind drivers!) back to the border where crossing was easy.  I stopped to thank the English-speaking border guard for being so understanding of my frustration 2 days earlier.  Always good to admit when you are in the wrong (particulary to regular border guards)!  Two days late and many dollars and time spent in a car for both me and Mai, but the trip was back on.

Phout, Souksakone, Maren and Sukkhavit (Phout’s aunt) in 2009.

Mai met me on the other side and we finally were on our way to Xam Tai, the birthplace of the stunning silk textiles about which we wrote our book “Silk Weavers of Hill Tribe Laos”.  Hugs all around, and great relief to finally arrive.  Unfortunately, having been delayed at the border, I missed the wedding of the young woman (daughter of Chola in our book) we first met when she was 12 years old, who wove beautiful narrow scarves with bright butterflies on them.  SO disappointing.

Four Lao sisters: Phout, Maren, Souksakone, and Mai. Maren may not look Lao, but…..

Mai and I were in Xam Tai for 3+ days, seeing friends, and buying a beautiful new supply of stunning silk textiles.  I am so amazed, every time we go, to see textiles that are even more beautiful than those available the year before.  New colors, patterns, and even new young weavers with their first pieces, shyly but proudly presenting their art for me to purchase from them in front of all of the women of their village – I can never resist buying from these new, hopeful weavers continuing the traditions of their families and cultures.

A young silk weaver in Xam Tai.

No one was wearing masks in Xam Tai, so I made the decision to not wear one either as we spent most of our time outside or in wood houses with good airflow throughout.  However, I used hand sanitizer and washed my hands with soap quite frequently.  I also emphasized with Mai, Souk, Phout, and others, that they needed to wash their hands with soap, not just rinse with water, in order to keep themselves safe.  It’s a very tough task to get people to change their behaviors when they see no evidence of needing to do so.  I was rather worried for everyone, given the number of Chinese workers on many construction projects around Laos who may have gone home for Tet and then come back to Laos for work, thus my anxiety level was higher than the usual level caused by purchasing more textiles than budgeted for due to the beauty of the pieces (yes, I did that again this year…).

The weaver in Xam Tai, Laos dons her incredibly fine naturally-dyed silk shaman’s shawl

Mai Chom as an 8-year-old in 2013.

One exciting event in Xam Tai was being invited to the young weaver Mai Chom’s house for dinner (she is featured in our book).  I had asked her, when looking at a gorgeous piece she had woven (and I bought), if she still was interested in becoming a doctor.  She said yes, and I told her that our friend Vandara’s daughter is a doctor and is willing to talk with Mai Chom about what it takes to become a doctor in Laos.  Mai Chom, now 15 years old, and her mother, were very excited about the connection, and the dinner ensued.  A lovely meal of chicken (traditional for greeting guests), delicious greens, sticky rice, bamboo shoots, and lao hai (Laos fermented rice “beer” sucked up through a bamboo straw, drinking competition style, as a celebration of special guests), were provided that evening for me, Mai, Souk, and Phout.  Lovely to be able to participate in another family’s meal and celebration.  Mai Chom’s parents and grandmothers were there, as many households consist of at least three generations of family.  Mai Chom was the youngest and only participant of her generation at the dinner and beamed shyly the whole time as we talked about her skills and capability with her family.

15 year-old Mai Chom poses with the incredible “man-woman” healing cloth she recently wove. It is woven from 100% naturally-dyed, locally raised silk.

Maren and 15-year-old Mai Chom in February, 2020.

Due to my delayed entry into to Laos, some portions of my trip had to be eliminated, so I was on a much faster deadline to see friends and textile suppliers.  Quick stops and long drives helped make up some time. Fortunately for me, our friend Somchanh, who makes the beautiful hand-carved wooden textile hangers and wall art we feature at our sales and online, is also a driver with his own van, so he provided me with transportation from Houaphan Province to Luang Prabang, with multiple stops in weaving villages on the way.  His wife Chantee came with him on the drive as she had never been to Houaphan before.  She was a great help with purchasing as she knew the prices for some of the items I was purchasing if I had chosen to buy them in Luang Prabang instead of in the village where they were made from the women who wove them.

It was in Luang Prabang where the first true impact of Covid-19 on Laos became evident.  The night market was very sparsely attended.  The night food market was virtually empty.  All of our friends in Luang Prabang expressed great concern about how they were going to survive, not only the virus, but the economic downturn caused by the decrease in tourism.  I admit, I overbought again, in Luang Prabang, out of concern for our friends trying to make ends meet.  Somchanh was worried about the decrease in tourists needing his van service and his subsequent ability to make his van payments.  Others were worried about paying rent on the spaces they showed their textiles and other goods.  Some shops where we had ongoing relationships were closed.  One other friend I just spoke with who lives in Luang Prabang is concerned that she will lose her rental home and have to live in her shop as she has had no income over the last two months and may not be able to keep paying rent on her home.

Mone, a Katu weaver, designer, and businessperson shows off one of her handwoven cloths. The white glass beads are actually woven onto the weft threads.  New textiles for 2020!

Nonetheless, people were cheerful, kind, and welcoming, as usual, and my time in Luang Prabang was lovely, despite the hard work.  I stayed with our friend Vandara both in Luang Prabang, and at her stunning guest house at Tat Kuang Si waterfall.  Her daughter Daeng took such good care of me in Luang Prabang, remembering what I like for breakfast and having it prepared without even my ordering!  Daeng also helped label my purchases for US Customs requirements and helped pack my boxes for shipping.  Such kind friends we have.

I then had a whirlwind day in Vientiane, where I checked in with Carol Cassidy at her Lao Textiles shop.  She is doing well, as are all of the weavers who work on traditional looms making Carol’s own designs for customers around the world.  She was a little concerned about Covid-19 but thought her family would stay in Laos for the summer.  That was not to be, as, shortly after I flew home from Hanoi, she and her family also left for their home in the States out of concern for the virus.  I also had a lovely meal with our friend Phout’s daughter Phouang, her husband Nan, their kids, and, surprise of surprise, Souk, who had come down to Vientiane after I left Xam Tai for business.  The next day, after visiting our shipper with a few more purchases, I flew to Hanoi.  No temperature checks, but everyone wore masks.

Maren with Carol Cassidy at Carol’s studio in Vientiane in March, 2020.

In Hanoi, I visited Mr. The’, who stored my bags for a couple of hours while I had dinner before getting on the train to Sapa.  He said that it was still OK to go to Sapa for a couple of days, but that he didn’t know if I would be allowed to stay in a village with my friends or when Sapa town would close to tourism.  The reason was that, a few days before I had arrived, two tourists from Europe had gone to Sapa, and were found to have been on a flight with someone who had Covid-19.  They were tested and were positive, so the police took them to the hospital, then back to Hanoi to the quarantine site for anyone who tested positive.  46 people in the Sapa area were determined to be exposed to them, and two restaurants and two hotels were closed on account of their visit.  Mr. The’ asked me to report in so he could know what was happening on the ground from my perspective.  I did, daily, and he checked in with me daily too to make sure I was OK.  Friend indeed.

When I arrived in Sapa, there were virtually no tourists.  Restaurants and shops were closed.  I called my friend Thi to see if she could still host me at her home.  She said we’d try, and she could talk to the village chief and let him know that I am “family” if any problem arose (we have known her family well for 15 years, and the girls – all in their 30s – call me “2^nd mom”).  A friend of hers from her village drove me in his taxi to her village, and I was able to stay with her.  She had cancelled all future guests to her homestay though, and I was to be her last visitor until Covid-19 danger was considered to be past.

Our very good friend, translator, and cultural liaison Thi, near her home in Lao Cai Province in northern Vietnam

We are so incredibly fortunate to have such good friends throughout Lao and Vietnam.  I can’t say that enough.  This time, having ordered some items from Thi to be made by her, her sisters, and her husband (items we have been purchasing from them for many years), I knew that she would have all arranged for me.  Not only that, but, while in Luang Prabang where her sister Sho lives with her family and has two shops selling her family’s items (Sho is the first member of the family we met on our first trip to Vietnam in 2005), I looked over some of Sho’s new merchandise, and, through a phone call to Thi, ordered a few other new items made by their sisters to purchase in addition to the original order.

Thi had everything arranged upon my arrival in her home.  We started with reviewing and purchasing the items she and her family made.  Her sister Sa, who designs and sews beautifully, was not able to bring her items to me herself, as she delivered her baby the day after I arrived!  A nephew brought over her items for me to choose from – I bought them all.  Thi and sister Zhu (who was 7 months pregnant), helped label the items I purchased from the region the morning I left.  Beautiful textiles, again.  Indigo dyed, as well as natural-colored handspun cotton and hemp, batik fabric and bags, pillowcases made from batik and hemp, beautifully used machettes and baskets, Thi’s husband Trang’s handmade traditional jewelry, what a stunning supply of traditional textiles and accessories.

Thi cutting up pumpkin for our lunch back in 2010.

During the two days I was there, Thi and I also swooped through the market and a couple other villages for the items her family did not make.  While stopping at an ATM to gather more money to purchase inventory items (yes, I overspent my budget here too!), we were stopped by a police officer on a motorcycle who chewed Thi out for not wearing her mask while talking with me, then told us that I had to go register at a tourist registration office set up to track visitors in the area so they could trace who went where in case the tourists ended up with Covid-19.  We found the office and I filled out a form stating my location and travel for the previous 14 days.  They took my temperature, checked my passport and visa, and I thanked them for being so careful regarding the health of the people who lived there.  I wanted to leave a good impression in case they wanted to make life hard for Thi, but fortunately they didn’t.

Given the virus concerns, Josh and I thought it might be best for me to get home earlier than originally planned.  Josh tried calling the airline in the US but couldn’t get through.  I tried calling the Hanoi office of the airline, but they didn’t have anyone who could speak English in the office.  I decided to cut my Sapa trip short and get back to Hanoi to change my flight there.  My flight had already been changed once to go through Japan instead of Korea (experiencing an outbreak at the time), but that created a problem with my connecting flights in the US – into Seattle, with a flight 15 minutes later from SFO to Eugene!  After just two nights at Thi’s home, I caught another train back to Hanoi.

A Black Hmong woman, masked because of coronavirus, sells beautiful hand-embroidered clothing panels in the Sapa, Vietnam marketplace.  She embroidered the belt she is holding when she was a teenager, and had used it for years until deciding to sell it.   Yes, it is in our hands now!

The train arrives in Hanoi at some ungodly hour of the morning, so I arrived at our usual hotel before 6:00 AM.  There, our lovely friend and host Tuyen opened the door for me but didn’t offer a room to a couple of young ladies on the street looking for a place to stay.  I was puzzled that he didn’t offer them a room but didn’t ask him about it until I caught a couple more hours of sleep.  When I awoke and went downstairs to see him, he said that he is the only staff member who has been working at the hotel for 28 days.  All others are back at their villages and can’t come into Hanoi.  He said that if he let in someone who ended up having Covid-19, he would have to go into quarantine and the hotel would be shut and he wouldn’t be able to see his family for 14 days.  He only allowed in people he knew – there were just a few of us staying at the time.  He said that a South Korean person had been trying to get a room a few days before and had been turned away at every hotel as, given the state of South Korea and Covid-19 at the time, any hotel that took him in would be shut and all their staff quarantined.  I don’t know where that poor man ended up staying.

I had to fill out a form that morning showing all of my travel in Vietnam, just as in Sapa.  Then, after coming back to the hotel after getting a coffee, he had me fill out another form, as I had neglected to put in the information on my flight from Laos, and the system had prompted him to get that information from me as it had been entered when I had to fill out the forms in Sapa.  Talk about up-to-date data tracking!  Impressive.

By popular demand, I was able to obtain a few of these from the town of Na Sala, Laos – indigo-dyed, ikat-style, handspun, handwoven, cotton scarves.  Here, Thong’s daughter models the lovely scarf she wove – the same style each member of our textile tour last spring learned how to ikat tie.

Once the forms were complete, I asked him to help me contact the airline office in Hanoi.  He called the office number I gave him.  The office gave him a number for an English-speaking office member.  He called her and put me on the line.  I offered to go to her office and she said “no, no, no, we can just do this on the phone”.  I gave her my original flight information and within 5 minutes she texted me my new reservation for a flight leaving that night – five days earlier than originally booked, to go home.  Such efficiency!!!!!

With one day instead of my planned 3 days to finalize all of my purchases and packing in Hanoi, I had to rush!  Earlier, while with Thi, I had e-mailed the woman whose sister makes the stunning quilling cards we discovered last year in Hanoi.  She emailed me in Sapa saying she needed me to come pick them up sooner as the hotel where she worked was closing due to no customers from Covid-19.  We managed to connect in that one day I had in Hanoi.  Whew!  The other people with whom I had placed ordered in Hanoi had everything ready for me and in a whirlwind day I picked everything up, bought boxes and tape, and my lovely hotel friend helped me organize and pack everything in order to make the flight home that night.  (He said he was pleased to help, as he had nothing else to do!).

A beautiful village valley near Xam Tai in Laos’ Houaphan Province.

I hauled all of my Vietnam merchandise home on the plane as there was not time in Hanoi to arrange with the shipper to get all of the items to her to be shipped to our customs broker in Portland.  It was a good thing too, as we have all of that inventory in hand now, but all of our items purchased in Laos are stuck in Vientiane waiting for flights to resume as, when Laos closed its borders, even cargo flights stopped.  Fortunately, our Laos shipper is very good and kind, and has put our bags in their airconditioned office to keep them all in good shape until they can be shipped.

I found it rather concerning that, in the Hanoi airport, we had temperature screening before entering the departure area and everyone wore face masks, but, when arriving in the US, there was absolutely no health screening and almost no one wore a mask.  This was on March 17, when covid-19 had been in Seattle, where I landed, for at least two weeks, and was rapidly spreading throughout the country.

A proud silk weaver in Xam Tai, Laos dons her latest, naturally-dyed handwoven “phaa biang.”

Having made it back home (out of the frying pan into the fire), I am left wondering why Laos and Vietnam have so many fewer cases of Covid-19 than the US, and no deaths to date?  I’m sure scientists and epidemiologists are all scurrying to figure that out.  My only contribution to the reasoning, besides the obvious better testing and isolating being done in those countries, is that people there eat so much better than we do.  Lots of fresh veggies with each meal, less meat and sugar.  That, and the median age in Laos is 23, Vietnam 30, and USA 38.

Josh and I are relieved that I was able to go on our business buying trip this time, as, not only did I want to check in with our friends to see how they are doing, but we were also running out of inventory due to excellent sales at the end of last year, and needed more art to share with all of our customers!

As soon as the Laos shipment arrives, we will be ready to share the beautiful items purchased on this trip.  However, due to Covid-19, all of the shows we were planning to attend to share these beautiful handcrafted items have been cancelled for this year through October.  We do not yet know whether it will be safe, or sensible, to conduct our usual Sacramento, CA, Portland, OR, and Eugene sales this November and December.  SO…….

Give us a call if you are looking for a special, handmade, custom, beautiful gift for a friend, family member, or yourself.  E-mail us with any specifications including size, color, motifs, and price for items you want.  Let us know if you are curious about what we think is extra special was discovered on this trip.  We can take quick photos and send them to you for custom, in-home shopping.  Help us support these artists through the economic downturn they (and we!) are experiencing due to Covid-19.

Most of all, know that we miss the opportunity to meet with you and share stories of your, our, and our Laos and Vietnamese friends’ lives.  Stay healthy.  Wash your hands.  Wear your face masks.  Take care of yourselves in the ways that work best for you.

We look forward to seeing you as soon as we are all healthily able to do so.

Beautiful northern Vietnam.

A guest focuses on creating her own wax-resistant batik pattern in a workshop taught by a Black Hmong woman.

It was the fourth day of the tour, and, having whirl-winded through Hanoi old town and museums, taken a night train, and then survived the bustle of the Bac Ha market, we were each perched on a stool with a slightly waxed board on our laps, a piece of hemp carefully smoothed over its surface, and, following our teacher Tshai’s directions, we each dipped our handmade batik tool into the hot wax in an iron pot over coals, and attempted to draw the traditional Hmong designs on our cloth. Much hilarity, unintended drops of wax, wiggly lines, and not enough space for the designs later, we each finished our own sample piece.  Next, into our hostess Thi’s indigo pot for the deep, beautiful blue.  Multiple dippings and dryings later, the pieces were boiled to take off the wax and reveal the designs.  They were good!  We were each so thrilled with our first attempts at Hmong batik.

Creating our own batik designs on locally-made hemp cloth dyed with indigo.

Batik was our first of many workshops in local textile arts in both Vietnam and Laos.  Thi also instructed us in how to peel, soften, and splice hemp fiber, the first three steps of a very lengthy process to create the hemp cloth used in making Hmong clothing.  Two different embroidery classes followed – Black Hmong embroidery, and then Red Dzao.  We also wandered through villages, trying out the hemp looms, seeing other indigo dye pots, looking for weaving tools, “ironing” hemp between a rock and a log, and visiting the local shops and markets to purchase handmade textile items. We even had a traditional Dzao/Yao herbal “sauna” bath at our last homestay night!

Sharing time with our Red Dzao artist-hosts.

Meanwhile, the food was delicious, local, and cooked by the families with whom we stayed.  Spring rolls were delicious!  We also had fresh steamed vegetables, chicken, pork, steamed rice, pancakes with mangos or bananas, fried rice, bamboo shoots, and tomatoes with tofu.  Delicious! Always plenty to eat, and special “happy water” (rice whiskey) for a couple evenings too.

Learning how to peel and splice hemp fiber.

A few travel days later, reeling silkworms was on the agenda.  Mai Souk, our silk reeling teacher, showed us the process for raising and reeling silk, and, much to the amusement of the remainder of the onlooking villagers, we each had turns at learning the feel of reeling and winding skeins of silk.

Two days of natural dyeing followed, with natural dye experts Souk and Phout at the lead.  We made fresh indigo green, red from lac, light and medium gold from Dton Ven (the bark of a huge jungle tree), among others, giving us 6 skeins of silk and one handwoven (by Phout) silk scarf dyed in the color of our choice.  Phout, the renown faster fringe twister of the region taught us her method, and the weavers of Xam Tai came around frequently to share their beautiful textiles for us to admire and buy.  A day of wandering around local villages, seeing their looms and tools, and getting a feel for the countryside was followed by the special, ubiquitous Laos ritual of a basi, given in our honor.

The crew with our skeins of hand-reeled silk we had just naturally-dyed with locally harvested materials. Souk (far left), Lun (third from left), and Phout (far right) are master dyers in Xam Tai.

Again, delicious, local food abounded.  Every meal had at least two types of cooked greens, and often fresh greens too. Boiled chicken, fried fish, fish soup, ant eggs, chicken eggs, silkworm larvae, bamboo shoots, more greens, fresh pork, fried pork belly, bananas of all sorts, pineapple, watermelon, instant coffee, beer, lao-lao, and more appeared throughout our freshly cooked home meals.

Spinning hand-ginned and bow-fluffed cotton in Na Sala.

We were very well fed, and the food was always fresh and local.

Enroute to Xam Neua, we stopped in a basket weaving village to observe the community members gathering to weave the double-walled sticky rice baskets from which we ate at every meal in Laos.  We also toured the caves in Vieng Xai, the headquarters of the Pathet Lao during the American/Vietnam war, a fascinating view into the struggle to establish the current Lao government.  In Xam Neua, we visited the market admiring textiles, weaving tools, and a myriad of fruits and vegetables before settling down for the night in a local guest house.

Next day, we got an early start to the town of Na Sala, where we learned from Lao Loum friend Thong how to gin, bow fluff, roll punis, spin, wind skeins, and wind the village-raised cotton on the matmi (ikat) frame in order to tie our own matmi scarf!  We took the frames with us to finish tying the pattern during our trip.  Some people even dyed their cotton at our weaving day at Ock Pop Tok.

A day and a half were spent in Phonsavanh, Xieng Khuong Province, visiting the new museum (nice!), Mulberries silk farm, the Mines Advisory Group center, a Tai Dam village, the village of Napia where they smelt the aluminum from the bombs America dropped on Lao during the Vietnam war to make spoons and bracelets and other saleable items, plus a tour of one of the Plain of Jars sites.

Posing with our owned ikat-tied cotton threads that are now prepared for dyeing in indigo.

Finally, we made it to Luang Prabang, where we wrapped up all of our silk experiences by weaving our very own textile on a traditional Lao floor loom with a pattern using both continuous and discontinuous supplemental weft patterning – just like all of the stunning textiles we viewed (and purchased!) in Xam Tai – though a touch simpler!  We also had a personal tour of the Traditional Arts and Ethnology Center in Luang Prabang, toured a temple, gave morning alms to the monks, and ended at the beautiful Kuang Si waterfall where we swam and assisted with making a Lao meal for our dinner.

Weaving with Lao silk.

It was an incredibly varied, and busy, tour with opportunities to see and actually do the textile arts of each of the cultures of the people with whom we stayed. Staying and learning with these artists friends is an opportunity only possible through our tours.

Want to join us on our next tour?  Write to me at maren@HilltribeArt.com or call me at 541-686-4285.  We’d love to share our friends and the beauty of Vietnam and Lao with you!

Maren takes a turn practicing discontinuous supplemental weft weaving. Everyone got to weave their own piece!

Little Kids in Hill Tribe Laos and Vietnam

In our last blog, we detailed the lives of school-age children (age 6-16), who generally have regular chores (such as weaving or farm work) in modern village life in hill tribe Laos and Vietnam. Infants and little kids up to five-year-olds, however, appear to Maren and me to live in a most ideal world: one that is full of affection, attention, freedom, and play.

A Flower Hmong mother at the weekly village market in northern Vietnam.

From day one, infants are held close to the mother’s (or another person’s) body at virtually all hours of the day. Working mothers, whether in the field, at the loom, or cooking over the hearth’s fire, often have an infant strapped on their back. If mom isn’t available (or is finally able to catch a quick nap), there’s grandma, or a big brother, sister or aunt, or neighbor, available to assure the youngster is safe and close. In that regard, it is rare to hear infants cry for more than a second or two, if at all, and they seem to live by the tenet: You can’t over-spoil an infant. In many homes, grandmothers especially play a central role assisting with infants and raising young children.

Blue Hmong woman shows off her beautiful son and her hand-dyed and embroidered baby carrier (with acrylic factory-made edging).

The regional textiles mirror this focused responsibility and nurturance, and every ethnic group has unique designs and motifs for infant-wear. The Red Dzao of northern Vietnam have a special hat designed by the ancestors to protects infants from nefarious spirits. These red and black hats are covered in radiant designs of white seed-beads, cowry shells, small coins, and/or fluffy tassles – all symbols of good luck and protection. Tradition holds that a spirit looking down from above would only see this red and black flower design (and not the child under the hat), and thus move on, leaving the child unharmed.  The Tai Daeng people of NE Laos have a special children’s blanket called a phaa tuum, and its motifs often reveal the phii nyak, a vicious traditional spirit known to protect the innocent. The multi-paneled baby carriers of the Black Hmong are renowned for their extremely intricate (and time-consuming to create) indigo-batik designs.

Red Dzao baby in his carrier with his special hat on. Lao Cai Province, Vietnam

Tai Daeng woman wrapping her baby in a phaa tuum. The central head and curly arms of a phi nyak can be seen. This blanket is indigo-dyed cotton on silk; the zone-dyed red is made from the excretion of the scale bug called lac.

Once kids are mobile, perhaps age 1½ or 2, the entire village becomes their playground for about 3 years. In truth, we’ve yet to be in a small village where the prevalence of its youngest members is not central to the energy, cheer, and attention of the village activities.  And yes – from this writer’s standpoint I’d say that they mostly get to “run wild,” as long as they stay reasonably safe, get along with others, and respond to an elder’s directive (assuming they’re within earshot…). The 4 and 5-year-olds are often the first to greet a village visitor as they are out playing on the village periphery. From a textile standpoint, there is little to note here – quite literally – as these are often the “clothing optional” years for both boys and girls. Cool weather brings out cheap western-style shirts (and, if potty trained, pants).

This older sisters helps care for her younger sibling.

We notice that everyone in the village seems to carry responsibility for the young ones. Every adult or older sibling seems ready to help manage a youngest’s true needs. Indeed, one of the central tasks of the older children is to look after the well-being of the younger, just-mobile kids.

An Akha dad entertains his daughter. Luang Nam Tha Province, Laos

Very often, older members of the community will look after the children during “work hours” while the able-bodied parents are off doing physical labor. The grandparents (who may or may not be grandparents by blood) seem to relish this supervisory role as they sit in the shade of their home surrounded by the buzz of youth at play. The elders are often involved in a home-bound task, perhaps shaping bamboo strips for basket weaving or spinning cotton with their spindle. As in many village-centered cultures around the world, grandparents often act as “first parents” to children, at least during the day. But we also note that the small kids do tend to care for themselves and look after each other quite well – grandparents are called on only for more serious boo-boos, or perhaps to put together a meal.

This Lanten grandmother cares for her granddaughter. Luang Nam Tha Province, Laos.

And toys? Don’t get us started!  Every old bicycle tire, every stick or plastic bottle, every rain-swollen ditch, every ball (whether store-bought or a wrap of rags), every puppy and frog and bug and puddle, every thing you can grasp in your hand –  Oh my gracious! – The world is so full of treasure when imagination and friends are sailing together at full mast!

Play is central to a young child’s life throughout the region

Maren meets the young Welcoming Committee in a Khmu village near Muang Khua in central Laos.

[Note: Throughout northern Laos and Vietnam, people appear well-fed and comfortable; kids of all ages seem healthy and engaged. Food, water, and shelter, while often basic, seem to be readily available for the vast majority. However, we are aware that our “traveler’s vantage point” may limit our ability to see or gain access to communities where basic needs are not met.]