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Kong
Kong
LaosArtisan ID #: BTPX-K-01
Like the textiles that she weaves, the life of master-weaver Kong is colorful, intriguing, and complex. Weaving has provided Kong with constancy, a link to her culture and heritage-and it's been her main source for economic survival.
- Kong's family fled their native land in the northern part of Laos to escape bombing during the Vietnam War.
- Kong began weaving at age 16 to support her family of ten.
- Her mother spins the silk, while she weaves the spun silk into fair trade scarves.
- When not working, she's either in the rice fields, cooking, or thinking of new designs to weave!
At 31 years old, Kong is happy to finally have a stable home and income to support her family. But it wasn't always this way.
- Although she was born in the Northern part of Laos, her family soon moved to avoid the bombing that occurred during/after the Vietnam-American War.
- In 1994, due to civil unrest and the opposition party burning villagers' homes, her family fled to their current village about an hour north of the capital city of Vientiane.
- As a young teenager, Kong gave up her dream of finishing school in order to help her family. She began working in the rice fields and weaving traditional Lao skirts to sell in the local market.
- The entrepreneurial Kong soon realized that the best weavers and silk markets were in Vientiane, so she moved to the capital city with several other girls from the village, started working in a high-end shop, and quickly became a master weaver.
- After her father left, Kong returned home to help with the farm and to support her family.
- Kong now happily supports not only her siblings, but also her 3 nephews.
When you ask Kong about her favorite activity, a glow comes across her face, and she tells you how much she loves to weave!
- Kong dreams of owning her own weaving business producing high-quality, eco-friendly silk and showcasing the work in a beautiful showroom.
- She wants to help other women in her village earn a better living using their weaving skills.
- "I want to say thank you for buying our products. I am happy to make silk forever."
Aside from providing product development expertise and a market for her products, GIANNA has helped Kong learn basic business planning, product design, quality control, and natural dyeing techniques.
- With two high-quality looms and micro-loans to start a weaving business, Kong has become a master weaver in her village.
- She leads 14 other women in her village, all producing high-quality scarves and taking great pride in their work!
- Additionally, Kong has saved some of her earnings and recently bought several cows and more rice land to augment her family farm. Next on her list -- renovating her family's house!
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GIANNA proudly offers the finest in artisan-crafted, eco-friendly fashion accessories and home decor. Every organic cotton pillow, silk scarf, recycled rug, or other organic gift creates fair trade opportunities for artisans around the globe. Crafted from the most authentic, eco-friendly, recycled products, each GIANNA home decor item is a gift from an artisan, a gift in fair trade, and the ultimate gift of all gifts - a gift from the heart.
For questions or assistance, call: 1-877-57-GIANNA
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