"Vaovao" means "new" in Madagascar. This scarf's fresh, mod style illustrates a new direction for our silk, where we build off of the past but are not constrained by it. Traditionally, Madagascar's silk fabric had thick heavy striping and was worn by royalty for centuries. This scarf's design evolved into lighter cleaner colors that reflect invigorated hope, opportunity, (and excitement!) for the future.
It is 100% Madagascar silk and completely hand-crafted (hand spun yarn, naturally dyed, and hand woven on a floor loom). The women of the Solidarity Cooperative craft each piece in their small village in the central highlands of Madagascar.
This special piece contains two different species of silk - the wild Borocera silk, which is only found in Madagascar, and the cultivated Mulberry silk. The wild silk is dyed black using a natural dye of black rice paddy mud, ash, and eucalyptus leaves. The Mulberry silk is the off-white yarn, which is it's undyed natural color.
Only natural dyes are used. The fabric has been washed several times, the dyes are fixed, and will not run or fade. This beautiful piece will last a lifetime.
Your purchase directly helps a weaver in this cooperative support her family. It also preserves the cultural tradition of silk weaving in Madagascar.
Each piece comes with a lovely tag that tells the story of the silk and has washing instructions.
Washing instructions: Hand-wash with any kind of soap. Lay flat to dry. Iron while still damp to give it a lovely sheen. Separately, you can steam iron it on a low-ish setting to refresh it from time to time without washing. This gives it a lovely sheen. Dry cleaning is also fine.
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