| Through Usaato I want to
convey my thoughts |
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Usaato cloth is hand woven from thread
that has been hand spun and dyed with plant dyes. Repeated
handiwork goes into making the cloth. The breath of the
environment in which the weaver lives is also worked into
the cloth, and it becomes clothing.
Let's live more in harmony with nature, Let's resound more
in tune with the earth, Let's resonate in synch with the
energy of the universe. In this way, we can come to understand
our true selves. It is this that I want to express through
Usaato.
To express thoughts and feelings, Some people play music,
while others may dance. Some people may even express themselves
through food. As for me, it is through clothing that I want
to channel nature's breath and convey love.
Our thoughts and feelings converge and
are spun into one thread, tying us all together. I strive
to become a "helper," providing "bolts of
energy" such as these.
Thank you very much.
Usaburo
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| Usakuma Fund |
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Since 1996, we have been making clothing
in Chiang Mai, Thailand. We have many occasions to interact
with local people while living and working in Thailand.
In particular, we visit mountain villages surrounding Chiang
Mai as part of our work to collect cloth.
Unlike Bangkok and Chiang Mai, the mountain villages are
undeveloped and poor. Some families are so poor that their
children cannot go to school, and we often meet children
who have lost their parents to HIV/AIDS living with grandparents
who cannot work.
I considered what I could do for those children, and using
scrap Usaato cloth, I made stuffed toys such as rabbits,
bears, and sugar gliders. Through the proceeds from the
sale of these stuffed animals, I am helping these children
so they can go to school and have a better life.
Usaburo
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| Access 21's Samue
(casual, loose-fitting kimono-style top with matching trousers) |
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Access 21 is an NGO that was the brainchild
of the Takahashi's, the resident priest of Jinguuji Temple
and his wife. Jinguuji Temple is located in Matsumoto City
of Nagano Prefecture, and Access 21 supports a community
at a temple located in the suburbs of Chiang Mai.
Many people with HIV/AIDS, women in particular, find it
very difficult to secure employment. This project began
with the aim of providing work to facilitate the improvement
of living standards and finding meaning in life.
Usaburo assists by designing samue and providing guidance
in sewing. In addition to Access 21's samue, much of Usaato's
clothing is also produced here.
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| Support to promote self-reliance |
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Usaato cloth
is woven primarily by women's groups in northeastern Thailand.
The vestiges of age-old tradition continue today with women
from self-sufficient farming families sewing enough clothing
for the year, both for themselves and for their families,
during the off-season when they have little agricultural work
to do.
As industrialization advances in Thailand, many people are
leaving the villages for the cities. With a sufficient amount
of consistent work to be done in making Usaato cloth, however,
increasing numbers of youth, husbands, and wives are returning
from migrant work in the cities. With Usaato work, it has
become possible to live together with their families in the
villages.
In Thailand, with the current reconsideration of traditional
and nature-oriented crafts, there are rapidly increasing numbers
of urban people who are also shifting their lifestyles towards
a more natural orientation.
Because of this, there are increasing numbers of new groups who have taken
up hand weaving and natural dyeing in Northeastern Thailand and other parts
of the country. Usaato is also working to help some of these groups to
establish themselves.
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