Tais Exhibition - Celebrating women's culture - Sunday 11th October

We will be holding our annual Tais exhibition 1 - 3 Sunday 11th October at the YHA, 215 Katoomba Street, Katoomba. We will be joined by musicologist, Ros Dunlop, who will provide us a with a multi-media presentation introducing the audience to tradtitional East Timorese culture, music and musical instruments.

Tais weaving is a form of textile production carried out by women in East Timor. Women, using a simple back strap loom, produce beautiful hand woven cloths that are used for a range of functional and ceremonial purposes.

Each district in Timor has its own unique designs, colours and styles. We purchase the tais at women's tais co-ops in Dili. These tais are purchased from women scattered across the country and brought to market in Dili for sale.

Tais production is a major source of income for women. We buy the tais using fair trade principles to re-sell in Australia. We generally do not mark up the price of the tais as the purpose of the sale is not to make money but more to create markets for the sale of tais outside of Timor. We also use the tais sales as way of educating and raising awarenessim the Blue Mountains of East Timorese culture.

Please join us and buy some beautiful Christmas gifts. All proceeds go to projects that directly assist women and their families in East Timor. For more information call Suzie on 4784 1718.