Burmese craftsmen, kids, and origami lacquerware
The joy of learning and playing, I guess, is something universal. But the opportunity to enjoy this is not.
It's a long story how I first came to meet lacquerware in Bagan, Burma. Perhaps i'd just better tell you something about its people. There are these three sweet little kids: Sandar Aung, Suhlang Hhin, Hhin Hhin. They have guided me to find new friends in their village, who eventually became my working partner there. And also from them, I have come to know that there are way too many kids out there, dropping out of school because of financial difficulty, and who have to make a living swarming around tourists.
"Craftopia" is a project for crafts, and more importantly, for a community. By returning the revenue generated to their own community, we get to support the craftsmen and their work, piece by piece, day by day, crafting a better future for their next generation.
Our first show in YY9 Gallery
Thanks to Chris, Susanna, Movana and Beatrice from YY9 Gallery, we have our first opportunity to show the Burmese origami lacquer ware in Hong Kong! And because of the gallery's generosity, we are able to give back half of the revenue generated to the craftsmen families. Here's how our story of give and take unfolds with our exhibits:
- for every lacquered origami you purchase
- 25% of the proceeds will go to lacquer craftsmen in Burma
- and 25% will go to Craftopia
- remaining 50% will ALL be given to support a Burmese child's learning material cost for a year !
Crafting a better future, one by one
Our first series of Craftopia products - lacquered paper origami (priced at US$40/HK$350, half of which goes to support a Burmese child's learning material cost for a year) are being sold through Soil since last November in YY9 and in the last two months in their pop-up shop in Square Street. (Thanks again for Soil's generous support by waiving commissioning charge! )
So far we've sold more than 40 pieces, and we've just delivered the first batch of donations to Bagan, where our lacquerware are made. And priority was given to craftsmen's families in need. The total number of families receiving the learning materials (books, stationery, plus half year private tuition fee) are 23, but 2 were not reachable on the date of our shooting. And there's one kid without parents, whom we prefer not to show his face here, even though he indeed has a very good looking face, no less heart warming than any of those you see below.
Natural dye with food waste, and creative kids
Michael from Germany makes bread and has a bakery shop in Varanasi, India. With the money he makes from the business, Michael has made a school for poor kids and women who aspire to learn but couldn't afford to. With about € 3000 per month, they're supporting 63 pupils and 11 local teachers with occasional help from volunteers.
There's this quote on their blog :
"Education is a human right with immense power to transform. On its foundation rest the cornerstones of freedom, democracy and sustainable human development." Kofi Annan
http://blog.learn-for-life.net/
Attracted by the light brimming from this Badi Asha School, I brought along a few organic cotton white handkerchiefs donated by a business partner, and together with my limited techniques, I made a two-day natural dye workshop with the kids, their teachers and volunteers there in April. All materials involved have been sourced locally on the spot, either at very little cost or for free. These're rubber bands and wooden spoons, onion peel left over from the markets, and coffee residue from Brown Bread Bakery.
And together, we've made about 30 handkerchiefs, one for the kids themselves and one for fund raising for the school.
Making things affordable
Is our capacity to acquire what we desire determined by our resources? or by our fear? And if there's a society where people find even the most basic things not affordable, does that mean that there's a lack of resources? or merely an abundance of fear? If that's the case, could we overcome these with more sharing? or greater faith? and what could design do in the making of this new economy, where the faith of sharing would replace the tolerance of greed?
With these questions in mind, I have put together the things we've done lately in two Asian villages where Buddhism was once taught and learnt with great compassion. Both projects explored not simply craft and design, but also the relationship between maker, user, and giver.
Fund raising is one thing I would like to make happen for the craftsmen and the kids there. Also worth making for us here, i believe, is freedom from our fear to give. And to address this concept of "affordability", all the handkerchiefs featured in the exhibition are open for your own price marking: meaning, you take what you can give. Or say, you give for the amount of change you'd like to make. Because half of the money you give will go back to the Badi Asha School in India to serve more students in need.
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