June 6, 2000
It's a boy thing, too It's tempting to think the art of weaving is an exclusively female occupation, but visit Ban Na Muean Sri in Trang province, where men are also working the loom, and you'll be forced to think again Story By Chompoo Trakullertsathien Pictures by SOMKID CHAIJITVANIT Boys learning the art of weaving at the Ban Na Muean Sri Weaving Centre in Trang province, thanks to Kusol Ninla-or, head of the Ban Na Muean Sri Weaving Group. After World War Two, the hand-woven textiles of Ban Na Muean Sri-for which the village was famous-sank into a long decline. Not until 1971 did they get a new lease on life, when a group of grandmothers, all masters at weaving, decided it was time to revive their hand-woven textiles. They accomplished this by teaching the skill to village girls, but also to village boys, a rather unique approach that some questioned at first. The thinking behind it was that villagers might begin to feel committed to continuing the local craft legacy if they were all involved. At the Ban Na Muean Sri Weaving Centre in Tambon Na Yong of Muang district, it is more common these days to see boys at the loom. "Apart from playing football, I like practising the art of weaving. I've realised that boys, too, can do the weaving work. And I enjoy doing it," said 16-year-old Amornthep Thongpan, a student of Ban Kuan Sawan School. The weaving class for the village boys and girls was the brainchild of Kusol Ninla-or, 70, head of the Ban Na Muean Sri Weaving Group. "I wanted the boys to have a chance to learn new things. There is no gender when it comes to the preservation of our village art. All are responsible for keeping it alive," explained Mrs Kusol. The boys' weaving programme, started in 1996, takes place at the two-storey weaving centre, which was set up with financial support from the provincial administration office, and is run by the Ban Na Muean Sri Weaving Group. "At first, the villagers didn't understand what I was trying to do. They thought I was crazy to teach boys how to weave. And they also doubted whether the boys could help preserve the local hand-woven textile tradition," she recalled. "Though I felt discouraged, I went ahead anyway, stocking the yarns so that the students could practice weaving for free," she said. Eventually her efforts paid off. The Mathayom 2 and 3 students of Ban Kuan Sawan School, allowed to attend the weaving class every Wednesday, now spend about three hours a week practising their weaving. "I've attended weaving class for two months now," said Kittisak Sae-Tuan, a student of Ban Kuan Sawan School. "First, I had to learn how to wind the yarns. After that Grandma Kusol taught me how to weave, step by step. Now I'm proud that I can weave a handkerchief." "Weaving is not difficult if we put our minds to it. And we need to practise regularly," added Patcharapong Srikaew, another male student. As for the girls, they can attend the weaving class whenever they are free. Apart from learning about weaving techniques, all students need to practise weaving the 20 different traditional patterns that make Ban Na Muean Sri weaving unique. "Some designs have long been forgotten so we have revived them. Among them is the lai dao lom duen pattern, one of the most complicated but very popular now among textile lovers," said Mrs Kusol. At the two-storey weaving centre, there are 10 looms on the first floor for youngsters to learn the craft. There are 25 more looms on the second floor for villagers to sharpen their skills. At first, the centre attracted only a few villagers. "Most of the female villagers preferred working in factories rather than weaving, which they viewed as a time-consuming process. They thought they could make several shirts a day in a factory but it might take them a whole month to fashion one piece of woven fabrics. So they chose the easier job," said Mrs Kusol. Men too, initially thought weaving was a woman's work and they preferred to work on rubber plantations or construction sites. Later, however, when the villagers realised that weaving could earn some weavers more income than factory or labour work, many joined the centre's weaving class-both men and women. "I've just started weaving. Before, I worked on a rubber plantation as a farm hand but I received a meagre income. So I quit and came to this centre with my friends," said Ms Boonchuay Panton, 38. "I found that I really liked this new work. While weaving, I feel so relaxed." Kusol Ninla-or: "I wanted the boys to have a chance to learn new things. There is no gender when it comes to the preservation of our village art." The Ban Na Muen Sri Weaving Group now has 66 members, both youngsters and adults, including disabled persons. Profits from selling the hand-woven textiles are re-invested in purchasing more rolls of yarn. Those who finish the weaving course can choose to work at the weaving centre, through which their work is sold. "The regular weavers get paid about 300 baht a day. Those skilful weavers are also responsible for teaching the newcomers. At my weaving centre, everybody must help each other," said Mrs Kusol. Those who have their own looms prefer working at home and send their woven fabrics to the centre for sale. The price of the fabric depends on how fine the work is. On weekends, many tourists visit the Ban Na Muean Sri Weaving Centre to buy its products, which helps generate more income for the weavers. "Some visitors buy many pieces at one time. That means they like our work, which makes me very happy," said Mrs Kusol. After her success at home, Mrs Kusol is teaching weaving to interested villagers in neighbouring provinces, namely Phuket, Phatthalung, Pattani, and Nakhon Sri Thammarat. "The main purpose of preservation is to make our local legacy widespread," said Mrs Kusol. According to the weaving master, the women of Ban Na Muean Sri have traditionally been skilful weavers. All had to weave their own textiles for household use as well as for rites and rituals. The signature textile of the village was the shoulder cloth. Traditionally, the bride would weave a shoulder cloth for the groom to wear during their wedding ceremony. The elderly also used this shoulder cloth when they went to the temple. When making offerings to monks, the villagers put the cloth on the floor and put offerings on top of it. The art of weaving in the village, however, faded after World War Two. During the war, thread was unavailable in the market, forcing the Ban Na Muean Sri Group to stop weaving. When peace returned, ready-made textiles became popular among the new generation, replacing hand-woven ones altogether. A group of elderly women in Ban Na Muean Sri, however, wanted to preserve their dying art form. In 1971, the village weaving master, Nang Chuayrod, persuaded three of her friends to give their beloved traditional fabric a new lease on life. The four grandmothers started by repairing old looms that had been left scattered around in many households, and by teaching weaving to the younger generation. Fortunately, their devotion caught the attention of Paijit Thipdej, a local administrator, who values the Southern weaving art. He set aside a budget for the four weavers to establish the Ban Na Muean Sri Weaving Centre in 1973, where children and those interested could learn weaving techniques. Ban Na Muean Sri woven textiles became nationally known when the late Princess Vibhavadi Rangsit visited the village and helped introduce the traditional fabric to Bangkok. "That made our craft more popular among those city dwellers who love wearing Thai hand-woven textiles," said Mrs Kusol. One of Mrs Nang's most promising students was her own daughter, Kusol, who now heads the weaving group. "After my mother died, I became responsible for teaching the craft to our village youngsters as well as adults. But my target group is the younger generation who can help preserve the local heritage," said Mrs Kusol. "As I see it, it would be partly my fault if I stood by idly without doing anything to preserve our culture. "I also want villagers to realise that if we keep our ancestors' heritage of the past, it will also help us make a living in the present," she added. - "We care" is a fortnightly series honouring people who believe in giving. In addition to supporting these causes, you can let us know about people who unselfishly help others so we can make more people aware of their efforts. Fax "We care" on 240-3668 or call 240-3700 ext 3208 or 3212. Email can be sent to sanitsuda@bangkokpost.net. - For a comprehensive list of charities covered by "We care", see the Bangkok Post Web site at http://www.bangkokpost.net/outlookwecare. Info for donations: - Organisation: Ban Na Muean Sri Weaving Group - Contact person: Kusol Ninla-or - Address: 19/1 Moo 8, Ban Na Muean Sri, Tambon Na Muean Sri, Na Yong district, Trang province, 92170 - Account information: Krung Thai Bank, Na Yong branch, savings account 937-1-02475-5.		Daily Main Entrance Page Local News Business Outlook Weekly IT news Horizons Travel NiteOwl (Trink) Real.Time Motoring Student Weekly Entertainment & Lifestyle What's on Dining out Recipe of the week Movies Music Book Review Beauty Fitness Nutrition NEW! 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