Thursday, June 2, 2011

The Indigo Project

Do you love textiles, the color blue, a good story, sustainability, helping others?
If the answer is yes - support The Indigo Project!
I have once again been invited to teach at the Museo Textil de Oaxaca in the fall. I will be teaching three workshops: a weft Ikat to the original group of weavers from Sept 2010, a warp Ikat workshop to a new group of ten, and Michel Garcia’s method of making a reduction indigo vat.
In addition I plan on traveling to one of the last villages in Mexico that produces indigo. I expect to spend several weeks in the village interviewing the villagers and documenting the indigo production from the field to the indigo cake.
This means I could be in Mexico for up to two months. For all of this to happen I need to raise the funds.
There are two ways that you can donate - join the fun at Kickstarter and receive great rewards!
Or if you’d like to make a tax-deductible donation or your company has matching grants then Fractured Atlas (the fiscal sponsor for Stories of Hope) is the way to go.
What will this money be used for? Part of it will be used to produce a book on the indigo growers. This book will document the process from the fields to the indigo cake ready for market. Part of it will go to having both Stories of Hope –Oaxaca (http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/2132961)and Stories of Hope –The Indigo Project translated into Spanish. Part of it will go to transportation, room and board for both myself and a translator. Part of it will go to pay the translator. Part of it will go to updating or adding equipment.
Why is this important? This is one of the last villages in Mexico to produce indigo and I feel very strongly that it is important to archive the process and tell the stories of the villagers. Indigo production has sustained them for generations, but this could all become lost as the younger generations leave the village to work in the US or Mexico City. It can become lost because this is a subsistence lifestyle and one bad crop can ruin the village financially. Last year there was too much rain and they were only able to produce a small amount of indigo.
It takes only one generation for knowledge to become forever lost. Twice in the past year I traveled to return to cultures craft techniques that had become lost to them.
Stories of Hope (www.madderlane.com) is making a difference in people’s lives and that is happening because of the generosity and support of people like you!
Thank you,
Linda LaBelle