We had the pleasure of shooting for Gone Rural's 'Song of the Weaver' collection recently.
The collection explores the lives of the women weavers, and shows the potential of what weaving can be. As the women work, they braid three strands together, just as their mothers and grandmothers have done before them. As they work, they sing in meditation, with joy, and in thanks to their ancestors.
As we follow the creation of a basket from its grass roots to its completion, the story of a life is woven into its fibres. Hour by hour, day by day, they transcribe the women’s daily lives, which resonate in beautiful harmony with nature. Sometimes the days are harsh, they care for their families and confront sickness, and they tend to their crops and cattle.
Gone Rural is a social enterprise that partners with 760 self –employed artisans to provide them with sustainable home-based income, combining craft and design and making it accessible and relevant.
Their collections combine tradition with innovation and are environmentally sensitive using natural fibres and re-cycled materials. The income generation is supported by social development programs that uplift the lives of rural Swazi women and their communities.
Gone Rural's 'Song of the Weaver' Collection was unveiled at the Interwoven exhibition Habitat's Platform Gallery, London 8th March.
