The Vetiver Network International

Handicrafts

Introductory Photo Essay Vetiver Handicraft Around the World

 

The Thai Royal Family have promoted handicrafts for many years, and took the lead in the 1990s to introduce fine handicrafts made from vetiver grass. The Royal Development Projects Board of Thailand continues to promote vetiver for handicrafts and provides training courses at very low cost. Other countries such as India, Brazil, China, Grenada and Venezuela have followed with some excellent handicraft programs. Vetiver provides a very good resouces material for handicrafts and some very “fine”‘ articles have been made. Vetiver handicrafts have helped disadvantaged women in Kerala to turn their lives around. Often handicraft making is a way of introducing other vetiver applications at community level such as soil and water conservation and waste water clean up.

Useful training manuals/guides:

Thailand – Technical bulletin #1999/1 Vetiver Handicrafts
Report: Vetiver Training Programme Bangkok, Thailand
Vetiver Grass Training Manual (Thailand) – pages 87-92; Handicrafts from Around the World; South Indian Vetiver handicrafts (using roots)
China: Handicraft Training
Webinar: Developing, marketing and social impact of vetiver grass based handicrafts: Video.

Videos of individual presentations: Jacob Jose (india); Paula Leao Pereira (Brazil); Vonnie Roudette (St Vincent and The Grenadines); June Slinger (Grenada); Oswaldo Luque (Venezuela)

Handicraft archive Files

Vetiver Handicrafts around the World – Photo essay
Thai Handicrafts made from vetiver leaves
handicraft handicraft
VETIVER BASED AGROFORESTRY PROJECT LAUNCHED IN ANHUI AND GUANGXI PROVINCES IN CHINA This project is a soil and water conservation agro forestry program in two very poor areas of China, It builds on a succesful intial project in the Dabie Mountains of Abhui Province. The report describes the project and includes a special report on the recent handicraft training program that is a component of the project. The project is coordinated by the China Vetiver Network.
handicrafts China – Poverty Reduction and Resource Protection in a Guangxi Province Minority Area. This is a community development project in south China, and is as initiative of the China Vetiver Network, funded partly by the EU. The project includes soil and water conservation measures using the Vetiver System, fruit tree planting, water supplies, and vetiver handicraft production. The report (including photographs) summarises recent achievements and a demand for upscaling by other counties and townships in Guangxi Province.
handicrafts THAILAND HANDICRAFT TRAINING REPORT
By Zehra Tyabji. Last year from May 1st to May 11th, a successful vetiver handicraft training course took place. Here are the results of the well carried out course. Great pictures and information!. Read More
chappals INDIA VETIVER HANDICRAFTS
Indian craftsmen have for many years made handicrafts from vetiver roots. This file (MB 2.1) shows a whole range of these handicrafts that were exhibited at the First National Indian Vetiver Workshop. See More
venezuelan handicrafts

Una Matica Sagrada – A Holy Little Plant (Vetiver Grass)
produced by Fundacion Empressa PolarVIDEO

This movie in Spanish is about how Venezuela women and girls have learned to use vetiver grass for making handicrafts and for on farm erosion control. The program was sponsored by Fundacion Empressa Polar and the movie was produced by Polar. Note in the second half the movie repeats itself with English subtitles. As a result of this and the Thai vetiver handicraft programs, there are now many other countries starting to use the Vetiver System for handicrafts and other green applications. (14 mins)

PROYECTO VETIVER TRUCHICULTURA MOCONOQUE INFORMA
Moconoque, Venezuela. 19 mayo 2011/ Boletín Informativo N° 2 año 2, página 1
Some new information from Venezuela (Spanish). Relating to high altitude VS, herbicides and handicrafts. From Oswaldo Luque

Video : Vetiver Handicraft Making: หญ้าแฝกนำไปทำเป็นผลิตภัณฑ์ – YouTube

As vetiver grass technology becomes spread around the world so does it’s application as a resource for handicraft making. Countries such as Thailand, Venezuela , China and India have quite some quite large vetiver handicraft businesses. Introducing communities to vetiver grass handicrafts makes good talking points for the people involved, and nearly always lead to  interest in other uses of the vetiver grass technology

Photo1 Disadvantaged women in Kerala, India have joined handicraft groups making vetiver boxes for spices (Jacob Jose)

Photos 2 & 3 Vetiver handicrafts made in Vietnam – the hat from the roots, and the back and seats of the chairs from the leaves
Photo 4 A vetiver mat made in Ghana