Regina Self-Help Center

ScissorsRockPaper’s Yoga Mat Bags feature traditional Matmee (tied strings) woven cloth made in the Isan Weaving center in Nongkhai, Thailand. This weaving is a traditional craft handed down through the generations in the north east ‘Isan’ region of Thailand.

 

Today the creative village women from around the Nongkai area strive to keep their craft alive by producing this beautiful cloth, which is then used in their sister project the Regina Centre, to make these high quality and fairly traded mat bags for us yogis!

 

 

In 1981 the Good Shepherd Sisters came to Nongkhai. Working at first in the border camps, they had a good understanding of the local people. Also, having worked in Bangkok since 1965 with the women who had migrated to the city from the rural areas, they understood the pressures on rural families in trying to satisfy their most basic needs.

 

It was clear to the Sisters that these people, disadvantaged in so many ways, had no choices available to them. Lacking an education or training of any sort, employment opportunities were limited. So the Sisters, working with the Isan people, implemented development projects which have to this day, been a source of empowerment, improving the quality of life for all involved. 

 

The work started in 1983 with the main purpose of helping support women and young girls so that they can work at home or in their community. They can then live with their families and not have to migrate to Bangkok or big cities to earn money. Regina Self-Help Center has training courses in tailoring, making bags, weaving, embroidery and making t-shirts. The project is divided into four branch locations Huai sai, Nongkhai, Donwai and Isan Weaving Project, part of Nongkhai branch, is located at the Nongkhai Village Vocational Training Center., These are for the convenience of supporting work distribution and reaching out to the workers. They are all in Nongkhai Province. Producers depend on sales for the crafts to promote the welfare of their families. The women involved in the project are trained to take responsibility for management in all areas related to craft production, decision making, accounting, invoicing, quality control, packing, salaries and supervision. This teaches them to start a small business on their own when an opportunity occurs.