indigohome

Baby Quilts from Indigo

A great Christmas gift from Indigo this year are our cotton voile reversible baby quilts. They are supper soft, washable and make nice blankets for the little ones in our lives. Tristan loves them for naptime at school and they're great on the couch for hanging out. CaraMiya and I handpicked these beautiful block print designs on our last trip to India. If you are interested in any of them you can call us at the store (808) 579-9199 or email us at indigopaia@gmail.com. Mahalo!

Omo River Valley, Ethiopia

I woke up this morning thinking about the trip Daniel is embarking on in the morning.  While he is traveling through Northern India to collect and put in to production goods for Indigo, his next stop will be Ethiopia to photograph the tribes of the Omo River Valley.

 

Karo Warriors, Omo River Region, Ethiopia

Charles Roffey

 

The Omo River Valley is in the southwestern region of Ethiopia and is the home of tribes living very much the same way they have for hundreds of years.  Their way of life is being threatened by the construction of a hydroelectric dam that could prove to make Ethiopia the largest exporter of electricity at the expense of wiping out a traditional culture.

This article from BBC explains the situation much better than I could try to:

Ethiopia dam 'could spark water wars'

By Peter Greste 
BBC News, Ethiopia 

Most people in Ethiopia's lower Omo River Valley continue to exist much as they have done for hundreds of years with virtually no concession to the 21st Century, with one disturbing exception: automatic weapons.

Almost every male carries a Kalashnikov or an M-16 assault rifle, and what might in the past have been a fairly innocuous dispute over grazing or water-rights between different groups, now frequently escalates into bloody warfare.

“ I don't think the government likes the Omo tribes. They are going to destroy us ” 
Bargaeri Mursi priest

Some fear the potential for dispute could be about to increase, because a huge dam - the second biggest in sub-Saharan Africa - is being built upstream.

The government denies that the river's flow will be affected and indeed says the Gilgel Gibe III Dam will reduce flooding.

"It increases the amount of water in the river system. It completely regulates flooding in the Omo, which has been a major problem," said Prime Minister Meles Zenawi.

But local people - and some academics - simply don't believe it.

'Rumours'

The Mursi people are one of about two dozen groups who depend, either directly or indirectly, on the river and its annual cycle of flood and recession for their survival.

They are famous for the coaster-sized clay disks that the women insert into their ear lobes and lower lips.

In the shade of a fig tree, a group of Mursi elders gathered to discuss "rumours" of the dam.

One of the senior community priests, Bargaeri, said although they were aware of the dam, they had heard nothing official.

"We will suffer because there will be no more floods," he said. "I don't think the government likes the Omo tribes. They are going to destroy us."

The floods lie at the very heart of the dispute over the dam.

The government plainly believes they will continue pretty much as they always have, except that the dam will allow the authorities to manage the timing and the height of the flood in a way that nature never did.

Richard Leakey - the renowned ecologist and most vocal critic of the dam - was blunt in his assessment of its consequences.

"My problem is that the dam is going to affect a huge number of people who have no voice, a huge number of people who will fight over the decreasing resources.

"Innocent people will be killed in conflict over those resources, and I don't believe it is necessary."

“ If the river goes down, there will be war ” 
Nyangatom elder

Mr Leakey's criticisms echo those of a collection of European, American and East African academics who have banded together as the "African Resources Working Group".

The group has released a highly detailed commentary on the electricity company's environmental impact assessment (EIA) that criticises almost every element of both the dam and the study.

In a section dealing with the impact on indigenous communities, the commentary asserts:

"Additional dispossession and disruption of the ethnic groups of the lowermost Omo basin, from the planned irrigation agricultural schemes and industrial projects described in the downstream EIA and planned by the Ethiopian government… will precipitate waves of new conflicts among groups already competing with one another over the shrinking natural resource base available to all of them."

Adaptation

The Nyangatom is amongst the most heavily armed of the communities in the Omo Valley.

Half of the group lives over the border inside South Sudan, where most young men fought with the rebel Sudan People's Liberation Movement during its long civil war with Khartoum. They brought back training, experience and weapons, raising the stakes even further.

In the village of Kangaten, the Nyangatom's elder spokesman called Kai shook with rage as he condemned the authorities.

"Let them first bring helicopters to kill us all; then the government can build its dam," he said.

Another elder bluntly declared: "If the river goes down, there will be war."

According to anthropologist Marco Bassi, of Oxford University, the tribes have developed sophisticated agricultural techniques that have allowed them to live comfortably and sustainably for centuries.

Each wet season, the riverside communities retreat to higher ground, waiting for the flood that inevitably comes.

Once the waters retreat, the communities move back to plant their crops on the damp and newly replenished soils.

Their cattle feed on the fresh grasses. The higher the flood, the more land is inundated, and the more becomes available to farm.

“ They will not be able to... deal with this change. They will simply die ” 
Marco Bassi,

Oxford University 

Even the highest of floods are necessary to replenish the outlying bush lands that the communities use to feed their livestock during the equally inevitable droughts.

"It looks very primitive from the outside," Mr Bassi said. "But when you investigate it, you discover that they have a very intimate knowledge of the land and its fertility.

"Each family has maybe seven or eight different varieties of sorghum that responds to different conditions. And combined, the community has 20 or 30.

"They know how to plant in a way that guarantees enough food whatever happens through the year."

But the tribal lands have become increasingly squeezed between newly gazetted national parks and large commercial landholders, and growing populations on the other.

The government has promised irrigation schemes as a way of mitigating any negative effects of the dam, but that too is dismissed by the community elders like Mursi priest Biyatongiya.

"It's not true," he said. "I haven't seen anything like irrigation before. They're just lying to us. Maybe they come and tell us these things but it's not true."

And anyway, Marco Bassi doubts the communities will be able to adapt to irrigated farming which would mean a wholesale transformation of their centuries-old nomadic cultures.

"The issue is how to empower these communities to face this change in a way that they can manage. How do you empower, enable these people to deal with this change?

"Under the current circumstances, they will not be able to do that… Simply, they will die."

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/africa/7959814.stm

Published: 2009/03/26 10:42:09 GMT

© BBC MMX

 

Floods in Pakistan

This morning I found a very well written op-ed piece in the New York Times that gives a very humanistic view of the tragedy that is unfolding there.  The author, Daniyal Mueenuddin is a mango farmer (and acclaimed short story author) from Pakistan.  Read the article here

The author makes the point that unlike other recent environmental disasters, there's not a huge death toll.   However, hundreds of thousands of people are left without any possessions, cultivated land, or prospect of income until a possible sugar cane harvest next October.  

These are some photos Daniel took in Waziristan.  Every picture I've seen of Pakistan lately is of the aftermath of the floods. Daniel's photos show the everyday life of the people before the disaster.

Photo by Daniel Sullivan (Waziristan, Pakistan 2004)

Photo by Daniel Sullivan (Waziristan, Pakistan 2004)

 Photo by Daniel Sullivan (Waziristan, Pakistan 2004)

 Photo by Daniel Sullivan (Waziristan, Pakistan 2004)

  

Hana in August

My son Tristan and I just got back from camping at  

Wai'anapanapa State Park

in Hana. We stayed at the cabins there which were great, exactly what you would want out of a state park cabin, rustic, isolated, overlooking the ocean. They even had hot water, a fridge, a burner and pots and pans. 

August is a great month to travel to Hana if you can avoid the rain. The waterfalls are the huge, everything is green and there are avacadoes and mangoes everywhere. Bellow are some photos I took with Tristan on our hike to the Seven Sacred Pools, the Bamboo forest and the Black sand beach. All of the photos are now available on my website www.danielsullivanphotography.com . 

M

  


   

Women's work

There's a great article in the New York Times today about a woman practicing traditional handicraft while making a positive impact on her own life as well as her family's.  Please read the article here.  I really love the end where she starts joking about her husband being her secretary.  It's amazing how she's been able to change her circumstances selling an art form that's centuries old.

While most of the "shisha" or mirror work textiles we carry in the store are antique, it is nice to see that there is an effort to continue such a beautiful and intricate art.

 We have many of the gorgeous antique textile pillows starting at $128.

The article mentions super pricey bags made from the antique textiles.  I've had a few starlets purchase handfuls of the clutches and bags CaraMiya designed and had made from reclaimed textiles.  They said they loved being able to spend $38 or $165 and the person receiving the gift assumed they had received a $2000 bag.  

Lucky for you we have a few clutches left made out of the old dancing skirts..

 Clutches $38 each

My favorite are the bags made from a mix of old Indian mirrorwork, Uzbek suzanis, and Afghan fabrics.  The bags range in price from $150-$185, but definitely worth it as each one is completely unique. 

 

 
Repurposing old textiles like this allows you to carry beautifully hand made art wherever you go.  

See you soon.

Rose

Makawao Rodeo

 

Makawao Upcountry Rodeo

This weekend was 55th annual Makawao Rodeo. When the rain cleared and the sun came out it proved for a memorable night upcountry. Every year around the fourth of July dozens of cowboys from around the Hawaiian Islands gather to compete in bull riding, roping and bronco riding. Here are some photos I took, from this years events.

     

Dress Me Up, Dress Me Down

CaraMiya recently got busy on some beautiful old silk saris and came up with an awesome summer dress.  Each one is completely one of a kind, using old silks in different lengths with silk ribbon that can be pulled on each side.  The dresses are versatile and can be worn as dresses or shirts, depending on how tightly you pull the ribbons.
On Saturday, we're bringing them all in and celebrating with some champagne from 4-6pm.  The dresses are $128 each and look super cute on everyone I've seen try it on.  Then, they just never take it off.   Perfect Maui dresses.  You feel like you're in pajamas, but you look pretty fly in the beautiful fabrics.

I'll let the pictures do the talking...

Thank you Catherine for being our pretty pretty.
See you Saturday!

Rose

Memorials for Trees?

I was flipping through Australia Vogue Living this morning and this tiny little blurb caught my eye.  The 200 year old Barcaldine Tree of Knowledge, located in a small town in Queensland, is considered the birthplace of the Australian Labor Party. The tree was poisoned in 2006 in an act of vandalism, and the dead trunk is all that remains. For the entire story, click here.

The photo that caught my eye was this one.

picture courtesy of ABC news Australia (http://www.abc.net.au/reslib/200905/r366237_1696391.jpg) 

An architecture firm, M3architecture, in association with Brian Hooper Architect, designed the memorial for the tree of knowledge erecting a giant timber and steel box with 3600 suspended (and sustainably obtained) timber slats that recreate the lost canopy.  Check out www.m3architecture.com for the entire project and more pictures.

I recently came across a website produced in memory of a tree that fell on a beautiful beach outside of Paia, the "Rope Tree" at Camp One.

Sorry for the teensy picture, but you can go to http://www.mauiwindcam.com/features/ropetree/  for lots more pictures, and history on the tree which was a major landmark on the northshore for many many years.

So not to get all bummer summer on you, but I find tree memorials pretty depressing.  There's lots of easy ways to make sure you're not consuming too much wood products.   Reading the newspaper online, buying recycled paper products, and all the other things most of us try to do every day (you should post a comment with any stellar ideas on conserving).

One huge industry beautiful trees are used for is furniture.  Lucky for you all the furniture at Indigo is acquired with the environment in mind.  

These night stands  are all older pieces that have been handpainted by talented artisans in Northern India.  They are $550 each and are precious.

We have tons of repurposed pieces like shelving made from old racing canoes and carved gateways.  I just sold the last sweet pouf holder made from an old grain press.  Email if you'd like some pictures and come in anytime to check out all of furniture that won't necessitate a tree memorial.

Rose

The full moon over Maui was amazing last night. I sat up with Tristan and waited until 10 PM for the clouds to clear. As they did the most amazing moonbow came out and I took this photo.

Everywhere I look, I find Indigo!

Rose here.  I generally spend too much time online looking over design websites, other store websites, and other blogs.  (NEVER celebrity gossip or clothing websites --NEVER)   So through all of my well justified time online, I have come across a few images lately that show that this little shop on this little island can offer items sought after around the world.

http://www.livingetc.com/gallery/main.php?g2_itemId=6106

Living Etc.  is an interior decor magazine from England.  I love their website because there's tons of photos in their online gallery that I linked above.  This photo looks like it was taken at Indigo (except for the knitted clock--so not Maui), and I will show you why...

Umm, obviously they have a professional photographer.  This took me about 5 minutes to setup and I think the similarities speak for themselves.  From Left: Round Stool $220, Fabric Camel $30, Mirrored Pillow $385, Kilim Pillow $215, Round Pouf $120, Coral Stitched Pillow (Made from old salt bag) $215, Mirrored Pillow small $45, Bengali Stitched Quilt (K/Q) $315, Cotton Voile Baby Quilt $86

In other news... The New York Times Home and Garden section featured the vacation home of Melanie Brandman who has her own PR firm and somehow is the manager of the American ELEPHANT POLO TEAM (!) in India. Worth reading the article just to hear about how the guys practice...  Through that life in India, there are some familiar items featured in the slideshow

Check out slide 14

 This is our last elephant knocker.  It's priced $142, and is just like the handles featured in the slideshow.  We have a huge selection of hardware that you can see here

Lastly, while Indigo is not mentioned in the article, the travel section of the New York Times featured Paia last week.  Check out the article at http://travel.nytimes.com/2010/05/16/travel/16next.html?scp=1&sq=paia&st=cse

It's a really nice article that explains some of the greatness in this little town.  Aloha!