One World Projects is partnering with WEAVE (Womens' Education for Advancement and Empowerment), a non-profit organization working within
Thailand, to assist women in the refugee camps at Mae Sot and Mae Sariang.
The military dictatorship in Burma known as the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC)
has been perpetrating human rights abuses against the people of Burma.
Since 1986, thousands of Burmese families have fled as refugees to Thailand.
Currently over 120,000 people face an uncertain future as displaced people, crowded into refugee camps on the
Thai-Burmese border.
Among these people are the Karen and Karenni ethnic groups.
Life in refugee camps is physically difficult and emotionally challenging.
Refugees are dependent on the tolerance of Thailand, which has become more and more strained.
The burden of providing for their families weighs heavily on the refugees, particularly women, who often are the heads of their households.
Opportunities to earn money are extremely limited.
Thai policy discourages income generation by refugees within the camps, and forbids people to
work outside the camp.
WEAVE believes that the empowerment of women and development of their status benefits the whole community.
They give women an opportunity to improve themselves through education, confidence building and skill development.
WEAVE encourages women to take on leadership responsibilities and share skills.
All items may be purchased securely on-line; see bottom of
page for shopping cart buttons.
Woven Change Purses and other Bags 
We have a wide variety of decorative change purses, ad pen/pencil cases for you.
Enjoy them everyday, knowing that you've helped women earn a living to help their families.
The decorative stitching and seed designs will vary; select the background color of your choice.
See below for more photos and information.
Large Change Purse with zipper closure
BAG-ZIP
6 1/4" wide x 4 1/4" high
$14.50
The decorative stitching and seed designs will vary; select the background color of your choice.
Small Coin Purse with zipper closure
BAG-COIN
4" wide x 3" high
$7.50
The decorative stitching and seed designs will vary; select the background color of your choice.
(Sorry - Black, Blue, Green and Rust purses are out of stock. Only Brown IS in stock.)
Pen / Pencil Case with zipper closure
BAG-PEN
8" wide x 3" high
$10.00
The decorative stitching and seed designs will vary; select the background color of your choice.
Lahu Womens Organization (LWO) |
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Lahu Passport Bag
These velvety soft passport bags are made by Lahu Womens Organization (LWO) members in Thailand.
Most of the Lahu women are undocumented Burmese, who have no opportunity to
hold jobs in towns and no income to support their families. The LWO helps them by
finding markets for their products, such as this passport holder and the large change purse below.
BAG-LWO-color $14.00
5" wide x 7" high; shoulder/neck length cord adds approximately 22" to the
total height. The fabric is velvety soft.
The decoration is appliqued, and the zipper provides access to a large inner storage area.
Colors:
(top left to right): Red, Burgundy and Green
(bottom left to right): Purple, Gray and Black
Colors currently in Stock: Red, Green, Gray. |
Lahu Large Change Purse
Not just for your change, these really are multi-purpose bags with a zippered top and small loop for hanging.
There are lots of different colors and styles, so we sell these as an assortment.
Retail customers - you may indicate a preference in the "Special Instructions" portion
of the shopping cart, or email or call us with your preferences. |
Lahu Large Change Purse
BAG-LWO-ZIP $7.00
7" wide x 5" high
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Available in 2 great sizes: |
Lahu Small Change Purse
BAG-LWO-ZIP-S $6.00
4.5" wide x 3.5" high
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Please also see more change purses created by reusing huipils (blouses) from Guatemala!
Scarves and Shawls
We have lovely scarves and shawls, finely crafted by these Burmese women. We've moved
them to our new Scarves and Shawls page.
The project's primary goal is to provide safe employment opportunities for women,
by enabling them to use traditional craft-making skills.
Weavers, sewers and embroiderers work in their homes, allowing women to care for small children while generating an
income for their families.
Natural Dye Woven Blankets
Small: |
40" x 100" |
$66.00 |
Large: |
60" x 100" |
$92.00 |
 |
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Brown Woven Blanket
BLNKT-BR-large |
Green Woven Blanket
BLNKT-GR- small or large |
Embroidered Cards
Set of 5 assorted embroidered cards on handmade paper with envelopes
4" x 6" WV-CARD5 $24.00
Each of these beautiful cards is made of handmade paper, with a cloth strip of
embroidered decoration with seeds on the front.
They're blank inside so you can use them for any occasion, all year round.
This photo shows 11 representative designs.
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WEAVE Textiles from the Thailand-Burma Border |
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Woven Bags |
Large Woven Change Purse |
WV-BAG-ZIP-color |
$14.50 |
|
Small Woven Coin Purse
(Sorry - Brown is the only color available.) |
WV-BAG-COIN-color |
$7.50 |
|
Woven Pen / Pencil Case |
WV-BAG-PEN-color |
$10.50 |
|
Lahu Passport Bag |
BAG-LWO-color |
14.00 |
|
Lahu Large Change Purse |
BAG-LWO-ZIP |
$7.00 |
|
Lahu Small Change Purse
(Sorry - out of stock) |
BAG-LWO-ZIP-S |
$6.00 |
|
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Personal Accessories
We've moved the beautiful scarves and shawls to our
new Scarves and Shawls page. |
|
Home Accessories |
Green Small Natural Dye Woven Blankets
40" x 100" |
WV-BLNKT-GR-S |
$66.00 |
|
Large Natural Dye Woven Blankets
60" x 100" |
WV-BLNKT-BR-L
WV-BLNKT-GR-L |
$92.00 |
|
Embroidered Cards
Assorted set of 5. Envelopes included. |
WV-CARD5 |
$24.00 |
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43 Ellicott Ave 