It's only a handful of days since spring break and I'm already looking at the calendar thinking, when is the next break? Where will I explore next? That said, I had an absolutely wonderful time in Ethiopia. It's truly unlike any place I've ever been. I was blessed to visit friends in Addis and fly out to Gondar and Lalibela (more to come on those places).
 |
| These white scarves are what the Orthodox Ethiopians wear. |
 |
| Women who wanted me to take their picture in Gondar. |
While in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia's capital, we visited a few different shops that feature some of the beautifully crafted scarves from Ethiopia.
 |
| This place used a lot of silk in the products. |
At one of the shops a German school was there on a field trip, so we were able to tag along on their tour. At this particular shop they use silk from worms harvested there in Ethiopia. Silk worms, a few moths, and the cocoons were on display for us to see.
 |
| Silk worms and the cocoons that the silk comes from. |
We learned about the process of spinning cotton into thread and watched women pedal the spinning wheels to do so.
 |
| Women working on spinning wheels. |
To get the bright colors, they used natural dyes from flowers/seeds like marigolds. The children there got to dye a piece of fabric.
 |
| Some of the thread that is ready to be woven. |
 |
| 2nd graders dying fabric using natural dyes. |
Men operate the looms that weave the cotton into designs with bright, bold colors. Depending on the size or design, it could take anywhere from a couple hours to a couple days to create a scarf or other textile.
 |
At Sabahar, all kinds of textiles were created to send around the world.
|
 |
| Finished products drying in the sun until they are shipped around the world. |
Since these shops provide jobs and sustainability for villages or women coming out of difficult situations, it was totally a win-win shopping experience. In total I purchased six for me...you can't have too many scarves, right? Excuse me while I go hop on Pinterest to pin more exciting ways to wear these beautiful works of art.
 |
| Wearing a fun, Ethiopian infinity scarf while grinding coffee. |
Here are a couple of the places we visited in person that you can visit online:
No comments:
Post a Comment