About The Forgotten Village
Weaving remains an expression of the deeply rooted cultural and social traditions of South East Asia. However, the lack of marketing and design knowledge has left producers poor and receiving only a fraction of the profit that thier product can generate.
The Forgotten Village works with rural weavers to develop their creativity and design, update their production techniques, and, most importantly, to fairly represent them in the North American market. We encourage our designers to establish their own labels to further empower them, and we act as their distributor here in North America. Making weaving a sustainable occupation in the village ensures the continuance of cultural traditions and identity. We endeavour to help the workers and their families raise the living standards of their community thereby ensuring their children receive an education rather than being obliged to leave their families to work in poor conditions in the cities.
In many of the rural areas of Vietnam and Camboda there are basic needs of infrastructure that need to be addressed and so, in addition to providing assistance in the development of their trade and market
, five percent of every sale is donated to the Mekong Plus - Vietnam Plus project, a non-profit organization for community development in rural areas of Cambodia and Vietnam. By its declaration, the organization has three main principles in its work:
- Target the poorest, who often subside on as little as $1.50 (Canadian dollars) per household per day
-Working with the strong involvement of the entire community
- Low cost and sustainable actions designed to have a long term impact without continuing external support
Their programs include English language training, micro-credit programs, agriculture programs and training, school programs and health education. The programs cover about 500 villages, 40 of which are in Cambodia.
If you would like to make a donation to the Mekong Plus - Vietnam Plus project you can do so by clicking on the button below. A receipt will be sent to you if you provide an address.