Stitching Our Story
Stitching Our Stories: A Community Research Project was launched in September 2012 through the partnership of PhotoForward, an international media arts organisation, and the Traditional Arts and Ethnology Centre. This trail-blazing project engaged women and girls from Laos’ diverse ethnic communities to use photography, digital video, and community research to explore their unique cultural heritage, the vital roles that women play, and the often-seismic impact that modernization is having on traditional beliefs and practices.
Through learning basic photography and ethnographic skills, young ethnic women were empowered to capture and document the rich stories of diligence, family bonds, ambition, industry, sacrifice, and dedication present within their communities. This inspiring project built the skills and confidence of these young, curious women as they investigated and reflected on their culture and revitalization of ethnic traditions and identity. Read below to learn more:
Project
The Stitching Our Stories project was broken into three terms per year: the first focused on photography skills, the second on interviewing and video skills, and the third on independent research. In its inaugural year, the project focused on the lives of Hmong women at the night market. They explored themes such as women at work, shamanism, traditional medicine, and childhood and parenthood. During the second year, the project expanded to include Tai Dam, Tai Lue, Phounoi, and Kmhmu ethnic groups. Their work focused on women at rest, at play, and at work; traditional papermaking; the practice of sitting by the fire after childbirth; and weaving.
The third year of Stitching Our Stories took place in Spring 2015, when TAEC successfully applied to join the Map Your World initiative. With five Nexus tablets and the Map Your World Platform, the SOS Community Researchers interviewed, photographed, and mapped women selling handicrafts in the Luang Prabang Night Market, their earnings, products, family makeup, and experiences to track how handicraft sales have affected their lives and incomes. The results of this research, and profiles of our Community Researchers are on the Map Your World Site here. To learn more about this project, please visit PhotoForward’s page.