We were given some gorgeous woven and hand stitched gifts from Bangladesh last week.
The placemats and napkins are hand woven, the shopping bag has been hand-stiched.
The work that has gone into these gifts is phenomenal.
Don't you think they are beautiful?
They were chosen for us from a shop called Aarong, a Bengali word meaning village fair.
Aarong is a social enterprise which creates livelihoods for rural women.
Aarong is dedicated to bringing positive change to lives of disadvantaged artisans,
85% of whom are women
I have never been to Bangladesh,
and I Iove having a touch of Bangladesh in our home this week!
The nearest I have been to Bangladesh was earlier this year
when we visited the neighbouring country of Myanmar.
The sweet gifts reminded me of a visit we made to the lotus weavers at Inle lake.
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| loom at Inle Lake, Myanmar |
At Inle Lake we watched women practice the age old tradition of weaving on ancient looking looms. There are many cooperatives of artisans around the lake who will welcome you into their studios.
When I admired the detailed needlework close up on the shopping bag
and realising that each stitch of the is hand done,
it got me thinking about the women who may have made these gifts.
I thought they would probably love to know, how the thoughtful gift had been admired
and looks perfectly at home on our table setting in Melbourne.
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| Myanmar women at village festival |
Thank you to the women of Bangladesh who made these gifts and the wonderful family who purchased these ethically made handicrafts and brought them to Australia to give to us!
Our home is full of memories from various countries - is yours?
Linking with Our World Tuesday - Thank you to Lady Fi and all the hosts
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