For centuries, the Pouthai women of Savannakhet Province in southern Laos have woven fabrics using natural dyes and fibers from their surrounding environment. Phouthai people, who live along the Xepon River, are now famous for the quality of their hand woven, organically-grown, indigo-colored cotton fabric.

Through the work of the Lahasinh Company, these beautiful textiles are now being marketed to the world under the Laha label.

Laha's mission is to support sustainable development, poverty eradication and the preservation of traditional culture in Laos through the production of fabrics from locally available materials.

A wide of variety of products that include clothing, accessories and furnishings are made for Laha from uniquely dyed and woven textiles. Laha products portray the wonderful designs and patterns created by large village looms.

OckPopTok brings people together through textiles to exchange knowledge and ideas. This concept is embodied in our name, which in Lao means ‘east meets west'.

Working in partnership with development agencies and the Lao Women's Union, we have trained artisans from remote areas in product design and other textile business skills. Our services are supported by our customers, with a percentage of sales going towards training villagers and thus sustaining the link between villages and markets.

In April 2006, we founded Fibre2Fabric, a non-profit gallery that focuses on hand-crafted textiles as a way to explore and explain Lao culture. We curate three exhibitions a year, taking an in-depth look at both the cultural importance of weaving and the techniques used.

Our gallery is located in the old quarter of Luang Prabang, close to the Mekong River. The weaving centre is 2 km out of town.

Books are a rare commodity in Laos. One of our goals is to build a collection of books and magazines available for anyone who wishes to read. We sell, rent, buy and trade all kinds of books.

We have created a rental section and ask visitors to pay a minimal fee when using our library, although Lao people can borrow books free. We mostly specialize in classic literature but carry a large selection of non-fiction, bestsellers, foreign language books and books on South-East Asia. When visitors trade books with us, we offer cash, or credit on books, food and drinks.

CAMACrafts is a non-profit, self-help project which markets handicrafts made by Lao artisans. We strive to provide a sustainable method of income for village women that would otherwise be unavailable.

Our products are entirely handmade using traditional patterns and techniques, which helps preserve the traditional needlework skills of Hmong and Lao women such as appliqué, cross stitch, embroidery and batik. This work provides employment for more than 250 women, an estimated 70% of whom are the only cash earners for their families.

Money earned from the handicrafts is largely used to send their children to school, and to provide food and medicine for their family.

Mulberries is a not-for-profit company that seeks to create income generating opportunities for Lao peoplein a socially and environmentally responsible way. 

Our company, in partnership with over 200 village families, specializes in the production of naturally-dyed, handmade Lao silk. We foster traditional silkworm rearing, reeling, weaving, and natural dyeing in villages, while providing training, tools and a market for sale and distribution.

We actively promote social and environmental awareness in the villages where we work by encouraging sustainable alternatives to opium production and harmful "slash-and-burn" agricultural practices.

We also stress to villagers the importance of traditional natural dyes, which are more environmentally friendly than the widely used chemical alternatives.

Hua Moom Xieng Thong Ethnic Shop displays a number of carved ethnic masks and sculptures produced by the Kha Moo ethnic minority of 'Ta Oi', near the Vietnamese border in Saravanh Province.

By purchasing these crafts, you not only help the artisans support their families and continue their traditional crafts, but you also encourage others in the community to make the beautiful wooden masks and sculptures. A total of 18 Kha Moo villages make these unique and spiritual items for our shop. All masks and sculptures are individual creations, made out of light wood, and dyed with earth from the mountain rice fields and charcoal from village fires. The sculptures depict the every day life and cultural practices of the Kha Moo.

It's creator Alexander Robb-Millar set it up after becoming disillusioned during extensive world travel and seeing many foreigners exploit the locals and their amazing skills, but also take advantage of some tourist's naivety when buying. The local family of the equal partnership also still reside in the property which helps avoid some of the social issues created when families move out of town after a foreign business moves in.

Erawan Arts further differs from other high end outlets by placing a big emphasis on donating a decent percentage of profits to directly supporting local communities in need through several initiatives; from installing fresh water to villages, supplying books and computers for schools, to buying good quality medicine and running medical trips to remote areas for providing basic healthcare.

Another unique aspect to Erawan Arts is that it is the only high end showroom in Luang Prabang where every item has been made in Laos, by Lao people, using 100% Lao materials and natural dyes. Furthermore, we also have a traditional 80 year old working loom inside where one can observe the weaving process as it happens.

We support all our staff, by paying our weavers and wood-workers above average for the masterpieces they create, with our showroom team also having their studies paid for. In addition, Erawan Arts provides free English tuition for any local person who wishes to attend on a daily basis.