Tessa Bunney

Planting Harvesting Drying Peeling Twisting Reeling Winding Pounding Boiling Washing Drying Weaving Pressing Batik Appliqué Embroidery

But hemp means far more to Hmong women than just a series of processes. It is an indispensable part of Hmong tradition "“ used from birth through to marriage and in death.

Making hemp yarn is a long and laborious process, the end result is a strong, durable cloth with qualities similar to linen, which Hmong women make into skirts for their traditional clothing and household items. In Lao PDR, hemp is now only cultivated in remote mountainous areas of the north.