I met Lauren Iida at the Eco Chic Expo, and I was immediately impressed with her dedication to helping people. She hosts monthly trunk shows featuring many designers from Cambodia, who wouldn't have the opportunity otherwise. This month's show features the artisans of Goel and traditional handcrafts. I'm happy to host Lauren's blog post on glam.spoon.
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Featured Designer: Goel - Reviving a Lost Cambodian Tradition
By Lauren Iida
Goel is an oasis just blocks from the hustle and bustle of Toul Tom Poung Market. After weaving through Phnom Penh traffic on a hot and dusty day, my moto taxi turns onto a sleepy street and drops me off in front of a large blue gate. I peek inside and spot a small traditional Khmer style house nestled in the shade of a few large trees. A rainbow landscape of dyed cotton yarn draped out to dry across lengths of bamboo stretches out before me. A small white dog greets me and a group of smiling Khmer women look up from their sewing to beckon me inside.
Cambodia’s Khmer Rouge genocide in the 70s and the following decades of civil war were responsible for destroying almost all traditional Khmer arts and culture as Pol Pot’s regime targeted artists of all types. One of Goel’s main missions is to revive the lost tradition of growing, naturally dying, and weaving cotton. They have shared their knowledge of this process with communities in rural Cambodia since 2006 and the social enterprise now trades fairly with around 80 families in total. Goel was started by Han Jung-Min and his wife who moved from Korea to start this project.
Smiling and chatting to me all the way, Han leads me past outbuildings containing small groups of men and women dipping and wringing and stomping material submerged in vats of dark dyes. We pop up a small flight of stairs to the top of the house which serves as a small retail space. After passing between drying sheets of freshly dyed cotton and enter a small wooden room filled with bolts of naturally dyed cotton in pale pinks, greens, yellows, and shades of brown, cream, and grey. Gingham and striped patterns dot the mass of fabric which fills the shelves.
The beautiful colors are obtained by using locally sourced plants to make natural dyes. When applied to cotton, jackfruit, tamarind, and turmeric give varying shades of yellow. The skin of an onion makes a pale khaki and oak yields a beautiful soft grey. These dyes are not only eco-friendly and free of harmful toxic residues, they are also being used to cultivate a sustainable industry from a lost Cambodian tradition.
The cotton is woven mostly in Takeo province, the textile capital of Cambodia. It is then sent to Phnom Penh where Goel seamstresses create a range of fresh and thoughtfully designed products from square-faced plush bears to baby accessories and apparel for men and women.
Leaving Goel I am overtaken by the important sustainable impact this small social enterprise has made in this country. Cambodia is known for it’s large international non-profits which tackle a wide variety of social, economic, and environmental issues often on a large scale. Goel is one of those unique grassroots projects that makes big progress in the small communities of Cambodia.
A variety of Goel products will be for sale at the next Green, Fair, and Local Trunk Sale in Pioneer Square, Sunday, February 13th, 2011 from 2PM-7PM. Located at SPACE Multi-dimensional Art Space and Gallery at 114 Alaskan Way South #302 in downtown Seattle.
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The Green, Fair, and Local Trunk Sale is a monthly event curated by social entrepreneur and Seattle-based designer, Lauren Iida. It features a variety of products for men, women, and children, which are made with eco-friendly materials and processes, socially responsible business practices, and by unique local designers.
