Artisans

Karenni artisans in Thailand

The Karen form a large tribal community in Thailand. The majority of the Karen people live in refugee camps in the mountains in the northwest of Thailand. They originate from Myanmar but had to flee from the military junta in the eighties. The Karen people consist of different sub-groups, one of them called the Karenni.

Karenni women are notorious weavers. Before they had to flee their country many women cultivated and spun their own cotton, from which they wove shawls and sarongs. Then as well as now they weave on wooden looms, the so-called backstop loom.

The artisans of our scarves live in Karen refugee site #1, one of the nine camps along the Thai-Myanmar border. Read more about live in the refugee sites and the projects supported by Counting Flowers.



The cotton scarves from the Karenni women were bought via WEAVE (Women's Education for Advancement and Empowerment), a Fairtrade organisation in Thailand that supports indigenous women (Karen and Karenni), girls and young children who are living in the camps.

WEAVE was founded in 1990. The Foundation strives to create a world where empowered women and their children are free to exercise their rights and live peacefully in a just, humane and equitable society. WEAVE's work includes the India-China-Myanmar border, but mainly concentrates along the Thai-Myanmar border.

Take a look at the cotton scarves handwoven by Karenni women.