About the Organization
Lulan Artisans is a locally driven social venture that creates an alliance of textile designers and gifted artisans in Southeast Asia to produce luxurious hand-woven fabrics. By providing economic opportunity, we help preserve hand-weaving in Asia while creating environmentally sustainable fabrics. Collections include fabric-by-the-yard,as well as home and fashion accessories that are marketed through select retailers.
We preserve artisan traditions and promote economic development by creating sustainable livelihoods for our artisan partners, their families and communities. This offers economic and social options to people at risk in regards to human trafficking and poverty. Our method utilizes a scalable, replicable model for each specific region to offer expertise in product development, fair wages and to provide the benefits needed whether childcare, education, housing, literacy classes or healthcare.
We currently support over 650 weavers,spinners,dyers and finishers using a holistic approach to produce eco-fabrics in Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and India.
Our goal is to increase the number of artisans to over 6,000, thus expanding our reach to more weaving families and communities. We are ready to expand, hire thousands of weavers and build innovative off-the-grid weaving centers whose profits will support these artisans but also provide health care and schooling for their children.
About the Design Team
Architecture for Humanity and its' designers will provide innovative off-the-grid weaving centers that respects tradition but represents a new way forward. Each building will not only be an anchor for these artisans but will signal change has arrived. Building designs will shared openly with anyone wanting to replicate them through a Creative Commons licensing mechanism on the Open Architecture Network. This way innovation is shared and more communities can benefit.
About the Project Leads
The leads on this project, Eve Blossom and Cameron Sinclair, have long share a common bond. Both entered architecture with a vision to use design as a vehicle to create social and economic change. Both initially ended up at the same large commercial firm, at different regional offices, unaware of each other. Both left promising design careers to pursue their dream to make a difference in the environment.
Eve began Lulan Artisans, a locally led pro-profit enterprise that empowers women in South Asia and gives them an alternative from human trafficking. While living in Asia, she witnessed the ill effects of human trafficking and the Tsunami devastation. In a few short years had developed over 13 weaving centers in 5 countries
At the same time Cameron went full-time with Architecture for Humanity, a non-profit he co-founded with Kate Stohr in 1999. This organization has brought professional design, development and construction expertise to communities who would not otherwise be able to afford these services.
Collectively these two initiatives are using power of design to change lives and build a more sustainable future for tens of thousands of families.By marrying the micro-enterprise textile business model of Lulan Artisans with the innovative open source model of Architecture for Humanity they believe that they can create a truly successful model of hybrid of ‘doing well by doing good'.
Videos
Video of the Lulan Artisans Process
Eve Blossom on Lulan Artisans at the 2008 International Contemporary Furniture Fair
I work with office furniture mainly and just wanted to thank you about the opportunity and for the technique presented here.
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good job thanks info