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 resouce 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 wtaer conservation and waste water clean up. Useful training manuals/guides: Thailand - Technical bulletin #1999/1 Vetiver Handicrafts |
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Vetiver Handicrafts around the World - Photo essay |
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Thai Handicrafts made from vetiver leaves |
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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. |
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. |
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THAILAND HANDICRAFT TRAINING REPORT |
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INDIA VETIVER HANDICRAFTS |
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Una Matica Sagrada - A Holy Little Plant (Vetiver Grass) 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) |
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PROYECTO VETIVER TRUCHICULTURA MOCONOQUE INFORMA |
Some new information from Venezuela (Spanish). Relating to high altitude VS, herbicides and handicrafts. From Oswaldo Luque |