Yoga and sustainability go hand in hand, as evidenced by the increasing number of yogis opting for eco-friendly, ethical sustainable yoga mats and gear. So Eco Yoga Store was delighted to have stumbled upon hand-woven, sustainable yoga mats created by a women’s cooperative based in Taveuni Island, Fiji.
Founder Ilil Lunkry started Tali Tali (which means woven in Fijian) to empower indigenous women, honour the art of traditional weaving, and create environmental awareness. After many years of use , when your Tali Tali sustainable yoga mats has served its purpose, it will decompose and break down into the soil.
Weaving in Fiji is a tradition passed down from generation to generation through the lineage of women, and woven mats still hold immense cultural value. From daily life to special occasions, woven mats are a big part of Fijian culture and usually the only furniture seen in a Fijian home.
The Tali Tali team – who are all local women from Taveuni – create stunning woven yoga mats from the Pandanas plant, which is native and wild in Fiji. Their unique skill set allows them to create financial freedom and support their families. Each mat takes around five to six hours to create, and the mats are purchased directly from the weavers for a fair and ethical wage.
Alongside generous remuneration, Tali Tali strives to empower its team beyond the financial. All profits go towards a very special cause: The Woven Village Program, an educational plan providing healing wisdom and guidance in the form of meditation, yoga, dance, and nutrition guidance for local women on the island.
The creation/weaving process
- The Pandanus leaves are cut from the wild or small plantations cultivated by local women. A Tali Tali yoga mat requires 80 leaves.
- The women carry the piles of leaves home where they cut out the spiky spines and edges. The leaves are boiled for a few minutes in a big giant pot over a wood fire, then spread out in the sun for drying.
- The drying process can take between one and three weeks, depending on the sun. After they dry, the Pandanas leaves are still hard and stiff, and every strip has to be softened by rubbing them back and forwards around a chair leg or beaten up with a wooden stick. Both ways of softening require great physical power and patience.
- For the patterns on the mats, some leaves are soaked and boiled in a natural black dye.
- Now the weaving can begin. The women will often weave at night time when the children are sleeping, and the Pandanas are softer due to the cooler air.
The mats
With a variety of patterns available, each mat comes in at a lightweight 700 grams and is 2-3 mm thick, 65 cm wide, and 170 cm long. The natural fibres of the mats are breathable, offer good grip, and are perfect for restorative and Yin styles of yoga practice. While a Tali Tali mat probably won’t replace your main yoga mat, they’re a lovely option for the aforementioned styles, and they’re ideal for a blissful grounding experience during meditation.
Tali Tali deeply respects the traditional work techniques and time that goes into making each yoga mat by hand. Ensuring the weavers receive a fair and valuable payback for their very skillful art is the co-operative’s priority.
Treasuring the ancient art of weaving
The art of weaving has been around long before us. In the animal world birds weave nests, beavers weave lodges, spiders weave webs.
It’s an art form in which, for generations, artisans have used the plants around them to create different useful products (baskets, mats, rooves, walls, fishing gear, hunting gear etc). The only way this skill is passed down comes through people sitting together and sharing knowledge.
This ancient art of weaving is rapidly dying and being forgotten with excessive use of modern destructive materials and processes. It’s part of Tali Tali’s mission to keep it alive.
The Woven Village Program
All profits from purchases go towards the Woven Village Program. The empowerment program is offered to woman in the communities that Tali Tali works with.
It comes to share tools for improving health and wellbeing, as well as builds resilience for individuals and communities.
The Woven Village programme was developed with local Taveuni weavers. It includes weekly sessions in four Taveuni villages over 4 months. Each session will include a yoga class, a regenerative living workshop, a shared meal and a weaving circle.
By the end of the 4 month programme, participants will have memorised a yoga flow, developed new knowledge and skills for health and wellbeing and spent time together as a community. They will have established a routine for future mat production, securing the capacity to earn income in the future.
Source: Eco Yoga Store
Also Read: International Yoga Day 2021: What do you wear when you practise Yoga?
