New Year in Taphin (Tamay's village near to Sapa in north Vietnam) is the most celebrated moment in the annual calendar, full of feasting and parties. This week, families across the mountainside in Taphin and beyond are preparing for the weekend when they will celebrate the beginning of the year of the dragon. It is very important welcome in the new year. What is particular for Tamay's community is to start the New Year with new, handmade clothes. Tamay is Mien*. All Mien Women will have spent the whole previous year preparing their new clothes for the New Year’s parties and to then wear for the year to come. On the eve of New Year everyone will have a...
hannah asked me to write about growing. the calendar that i have been born into tells me it is ‘spring equinox’ today. my fingers - raw cracked and remembering tell me that last week i was planting beans, broccoli, tomatoes, lettuce. i suppose with some sort of faith that they would grow. and, also, knowing that this was not inevitable. learning, in fact, that it was not inevitable those fingers who planted them would be the fingers who ate them. and so – with things being put in the soil my mind turns to ground. to earth. to bedrock. from the south west of these celtic isles, i wonder about the land we find ourselves on and discover...
Last week Tamay rang me. She rang to say how sorry she was for everyone about the fire at Grenfell Tower, London. She said, it is so, so sad and that she was thinking about everyone who had been affected. "I am so sorry for everybody". I was so touched by this. I had to share it with you all. Tamay and I speak regularly. It is amazing that despite her not being able to read and write we have always been able to speak on the phone. Sometimes we don't always understand exactly, but we both listen and try other ways to say things and then we get it. It is truly satisfying, for both of us. (That's how we...
Tamay & Me is an almost all women business ... (We do have 1 man on the team.) For me, the Dzao woman represents the ancient woman. It is magnificent to see in real life. I have always romanticised the ancient woman. A connected woman. A strong woman. The Dzao women are strong. They are proud. They rule the roost at home. Almost all of them are the breadwinners. Dzao women get up between 3-4 am each day. They are farmers. They are the most exceptional embroiderers. They make their own clothes. They have lots of kids. They look after their elderly. They cook healthy fresh food everyday. They chat and gossip. They move through each day...
