The Weavers
From the first day it's harvested from the forest floor, the rattan has passed through quite a journey from wild creeper to readily usable raw material. Its outer layer thorns are removed, stains are washed away in the river, and it's cured by smoking in Sulphur fumes and dried in the sun to remove excess moisture. Here are a few more steps how rattan becomes the beautiful objects we have created.*
The rattan stems' nodes are scraped by hand to get them ready to slide through into the rattan peel machine.
The outer layers are split to separate the core and the peel. The peel is used for detailed weaving and the core is used for molding baskets and furniture structure.
Our products are produced at small workshops in remote villages. The work is more like a family affair and a village community event.
Skilled weavers start the module with the rattan's inner core and weave through the rattan skin to achieve the beautiful object you desire.
It is amazing to see how artisans are still using their old style weaving tools, favoured over any mordenised tool.
The small town called Yegyi town, located in Ayerrawaddy Delta Region in Burma ( Myanmar), is traditionally known for its generation passed down rattan weaving skill.