Volunteer Sack is on a 6 week trip through 3 Lao provinces to identify villages where the skill to make Earth’s Greenest Bag™ still exists. “I am trying to anticipate the need for increased bag production as global demand grows,” said Sack from Houay Xay, on the Lao/Thailand border. “My journey will take me into remote areas ordinarily accessible only to Khmu people,” he said. Already there was enormous pay-off during the first week when Sack located people who had worked with Khmu villages on producing handicrafts nearly 15 years ago. They were able to provide much information about distant villages so that he could plan his itinerary. “The timing of my trip is critical because many villages...
Be careful that your cloth bags actually are eco-friendly. Cotton bags (unless they are organic) have a much larger carbon footprint than "disposable" plastic because of the intensive agriculture and manufacturing they require. Even hemp bags, because they are made from cultivated hemp and usually in factories, have significant carbon footprints. The Nature Bag Khmu/Lao Poverty Reduction Project, sharing Earth's Greenest Bag globally, is truly eco-friendly because of its hand-harvested naturally-growing fiber, in-home crafting, long life cycle & minimal weight allowing delivery anywhere with almost no consumption of fossil-sourced energy. It's socially sustainable, too, being a tool for thousands of years for the ancient culture that makes it today to provide income without wasteful commuting & allowing traditional child nurturing. ...
The organic fiber that the Khmu bag crafters use almost exclusively can now be purchased at www.NatureBag.ORG. “Over the years we’ve had requests from textile scholars as well as designers for samples of the fiber that is an important element in the amazing characteristics of the Nature Bag,” explained Volunteer & Primary Financial Project sponsor Bill Newbrough. “So we’ve decided to add samples of both the cord and the fabric as products for sale on our e-commerce website.” In addition to scholarly study, the samples can be used for novelty gifts or included in homemade clothing and other hand-stitched fabrics. One inquirer wanted to know how a piece of the fabric might work in a quilt. Now s/he can find...
The Khmu ethnic group inhabits large parts of Northern and central Laos, Vietnam and Thailand. In Laos, they represent the most important Môn-Khmer ethnic group. Their territory stretches from Phongsali to Pakxane in Bolikhamxay Province, but the Khmu are mostly found living in groups throughout the provinces of Luang Prabang, Oudomxay, northern Sayabury, southern Phongsali, eastern Luang Namtha, also in the center and west of Houaphan and Xieng Khouang and north of Vientiane. This ethnic minority is divided into many subgroups which are not easily identified ethnically, amongst them are the Môn-Khmer, Ou, Lu, Rok, Me, Keun, Kheng, Khouene, Khongsat. The Nguan and the Kha Bit who are closely related to the Khmu are attributed to the Lamet and the...
