“ Cruise around Tsunami Havens Project”

Andaman Discoveries was pleased to welcome back Mr. Takashi Higashiyaman and Ms. Hidemi Nishura to participate in a program that focused on the Tsunami relief project of Saori weaving around the Andaman Coast. During the program, Takashi and Hidemi visited different communities that were struck by the Tsunami. They were all given the opportunity to learn the traditional skill of weaving and then asked to weave a portion of a 10 meter cloth that has been passed around the world to different communities that have been affected by Tsunami’s. The idea of this project was to allow people to learn about Saori weaving. The Saori weaving project was created after Thailand’s 2004 Tsumani as an occupational group for women to earn a living. The project originated in Thailand, but the skills were passed along to communities in Japan after the Tsunami hit five years ago. Mr. Takashi and Ms. Hidemi have been traveling along the Andaman Coast to allow people to weave on a single piece of cloth that is 10 meters in length. The thread that was used to weave the cloth together was wrapped by the survivors of the disaster hit area of Tahok Japan. The cloth will symbolize the 10 year anniversary of the Indian Ocean Tsunami that happened on December 26th, 2004. The cloth has pictures of all the people that helped weave it together, creating a bond between the people affected by the Tsunami in Japan and Thailand. Mr. Takashi also had pieces woven in memory of the Hanshin Earthquakes in Kobe and the Tsunami in the Sendai region of Japan

Our two guests were able to visit Baan Tarn Nam Jai Orphanage where 25 kids joined the weaving project. The next day they went to the CDC at Ban Nam Kem where 20 students participated in learning to weave. Then they headed to the village of Ban Tale Nok to participate in the homestay program. They learned how to make Batik, soap and at night the villagers joined in the weaving project. The last day consisted of learning how to weave roof panels out of Nippa Palm and cooking a delicious Thai desert. Then they took a boat tour through the mangroves to see the surrounding area and how it was affected by the Tsunami. After they left the homestay, they traveled to Ban Pak Treim where the villagers all wove a piece of the cloth. The trip ended at the Andaman Discoveries office with all of our staff weaving a portion of the cloth!

We would like to thank you very much for letting Andaman Discoveries join and share in this meaningful project and look forward to the continuation and collaboration between the Saori projects in Japan and Thailand.