Ban Lampoo

Handcrafted Thai Silk

Ban Lampoo silk is made by hand on handmade looms in the village, population 200. The nearest town is Khukan with a population of 2,000 and it is 7 miles away. The biggest city, and provincial capital is Si Saket, population 25,000 and 40 miles from the village. The village is about 350 miles from Bangkok in the N.E. portion of Thailand, known as Isaan.

The people of the village are all farmers, including all the women. In their free time and during seasonal breaks in farming, some of the women weave silk to supplement their income which is about $175 per month per family.

Some of the houses in the village are made of wood and some only of tin sheeting. Friendly dogs, chickens and ducks roam here and there. And then, of course, there are the children; ever smiling, thin but not skinny, shinny clean in their school uniforms in the morning, dusty and bedraggled (but still smiling shyly) when school is out.

As one woman weaves her silk on a handmade loom, several friends and relatives will invariably be around chatting, helping and taking turns. It is all a very personal approach and about as different from the factories in China that produce machine made silk as is possible. The women who weave Thai silk can be at home with their family and friends and work at their own pace.

Siamese Style provides the small amount of capital that the silk weavers of Ban Lampoo need. When a piece is sold, 50% of the profit goes to the weavers and 50% goes to continue the operation of Siamese Style. To date, all of the proceeds going to Siamese Style have been used to purchase more silk supplies.