Sustainable Weaving Centres Design Brief

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ETWANov 2009

Design Brief for

Sustainable Weaving Center’sPhase 1. Sketch Design

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Background: Weaving Sustainable Communities

ETWA is a Melbourne based not-for-profit organization run by volunteers. We work to supportwomen in three remote communities on the eastern tip of the island of Timor-Leste. Through themedium of cultural handcrafts, we aim to help women ease the burdens of poverty and maintaintheir cultural integrity. The highly skilled and motivated women we work with have achieved muchand hope for much more. With support from ETWA, they recently came together to form theCooperative for Tais and Cultural Development (CTCD). This relationship is a major strength.CTCD draws its membership from three weaving collectives; one group in central Los Palos andtwo groups in the mountainous sub-district of Iliomar. CTCD has 86 members who come from thepoorest and most disadvantaged families in the region; approximately 25% of female memberswere widowed during the Indonesian occupation and many members have limited access tofarmlands.

Identified Needs:

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Central working/ community spaces for each of the three weaving groups

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Assistance with product design, development, manufacture, marketing and distribution

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In-country support to enable sustainability of weaving groups and CTCD as an organisation

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Projects to improve women’s health and well-being

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Organisational capacity building; literacy and numeracy training

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Support for local farmers to improve farming methods, increase yields and improve foodsecurity

Response to Identified Needs

VOLUNTEER PLACEMENT

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Two-year Community Economic Development Advisor position supported by AustralianVolunteers International and ETWA

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Position critical to supporting community projects and developing long-term economicviability

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Candidate selected and due to start in July 2010

BUILDING SUSTAINABLE WEAVING CENTRES

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Critical project to build sustainable centre’s for each of the three weaving groups ETWAsupports (and later, one larger centre for research and development in Los Palos)

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Partnership established with Alternative Technology Association to supply solar panels andsolar lighting and with Architects for Peace to design buildings

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Partnerships established with East Timorese NGOs PERMATIL and Rural Cooperative Devel-opment to support organic cotton farming and the application of permaculture processes toincrease food security and propagate medicinal and dyeing plants

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Completion of the research phase of ETWA’s Health Study. This phase generated compre-hensive data, which ETWA will use to design programs to improve women’s health

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Design Brief

The buildings will be

life changing spaces

for the women involved in CTCD. They will helpwomen work towards self-sufficient manage-ment of a

diverse

range of enterprises andalso provide accommodation for visiting train-ers, volunteers and tourists.The challenge is to create designs that willinspire the women to

think beyond hand-weaving

and imagine the

possibilities

thatthese buildings present to their communities.From product development to health andagriculture, the buildings will be places wherelocal talents are discovered; where

new ideasflourish

and where practical skills develop-ment and training can occur. Handcraftsproduction, farming of rare dyeing plants andorganic cotton, essential oils and wood carvingare a few of the proposed programs but the

possibilities are endless

.The design challenge is to develop three

designs that inspire and instigatethinking

about sustainable community enter-prise. The designs will be presented to thecommunities who will select the most appropri-ate design for their landscapes,

their hopesand their vision

. The villagers will then worktogether to make their vision a reality.