Textile Cooperative,
Lùng Tám, Vietnam, 2017

A collaborative design and build project with an H’mong ethnic group in northern Vietnam. The cooperative provides space for designing and making Batik Hemp Textiles. 

Working through đôi công, the Vietnamese practice of mutual support, to plan, design and build a textile cooperative in the village of Lùng Tám, in the northernmost province of Ha Giang, Vietnam. The cooperative offers work opportunities for women in the surrounding villages, currently consisting of 130 members engaged in various steps of producing batik textiles. Aiming to reach 400 women in the coming years, there was a need for a larger building that would include spaces for community activities such as cultural events, training classes, and meetings. A small prototype timber structure was built using the existing knowledge and skills of local carpenters, bringing attention to the initiative within the village while providing space for drying hemp textiles after the colour-dyeing process. The eventual construction of the new cooperative building was postponed due to severe landslides in the area.

Team: Alexander Eriksson Furunes, Hiep Nguyen,
Chau Nguyen Huyen, Remi Gontier & Sudarshan Khadka 
Partner: Lùng Tám Textile Cooperative