Luang Prabang, Laos: During our last day in Luang Prabang, we decided it was time to do something a bit more sedentary. So, inspired by the kitchy textile galleries all around town, we signed ourselves up for a day-long natural dying and weaving class with Ockpoptok - a group dedicated to supporting and promoting Lao textiles.
We arrived at Ockpoptok’s weaving center and spent the first part of the morning learning about how silk is made, from worm to scarf. We were then taught how each color is dyed using only natural ingredients found around their center (did you know tumeric dyes silk bright yellow and wild almond bark dies silk green?). After the lessons, we got to dye our own silk. We chose yellow, orange, and red.
After lunch we learned how to use a loom - who knew how cool these things were? - and spent the remainder of the day trying our hand at weaving placemats (with the aid of a master weaver). All in all, we were quite proud with our handiwork and are looking forward to using our handmade silk placemats when we get home.
Oh, and our guide made us try silk worm poo tea (a Lao delicacy)…it was actually kind of good.
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