Increasing the Economic Value-added of Mekong Basin Woven Textiles from the Diversity of Biological Resources and Wisdom

Abstract

         The objectives of this research were 1) to study the diversity of biological resources and local wisdom of the Mekong Basin woven textile communities and 2) to study ways to increase the economic value of textiles in the Mekong Basin communities. Field data were collected through in-depth interviews with 30 key informants, and data were analyzed using qualitative research methods. The results showed that Mekong communities in Thailand and Laos PDR continued to inherit the weaving practices from their ancestors. It is also a diverse community with abundant biological resources. Therefore, they adopted a variety of raw materials available in the community used as fabric dyes for weaving textiles for households, which available in the community by dyeing natural colors from leaves, flowers, and fruits of local plants. This is the wisdom inherited from the ancestors and the process of learning the wisdom of dying from nature continuously. Communities along the Thai-Laos Mekong River Basin have emphasized the process of participation of people in the community, especially the members of the weaving group, to learn the knowledge and skills of woven textiles to product development in textile motifs and pattern design to achieve novelty and modernity able to respond to the needs of  consumers.