I had a cuteness overload the first time I saw the little Maew Maews. It was early in 2020 at a Thai market and the fellow stallholder from Peace of Mind by Chiang Mai Cotton had them nonchalantly perched amidst a sea of lovely tablemats, clothing items and other hand-made natural yummies.
I INSTANTLY knew that commercially supporting this level of hand-made craft by Karen village women really mattered.
What is a Maew? It's the Thai word for cat. Sort of mimicking the sound that a cat makes. Sort of Meow with an Asian twist. 😊🐱 When you say something twice, like Maew Maew, it makes it diminutive, so it means "Little Cat". And makes it sort of cutesy.
What makes these Maew Maews so special? They are entirely hand-made, organic & natural and are creating employment for ethnic Karen women in the villages around Hot and Op Luang in Northern Thailand. They're hand crocheted from natural, organic cotton - all naturally dyed using local herbs and plants like turmeric and indigo. They're even stuffed with natural cotton, which can be seen fluffing its way all over Northern Thailand at the end of the hot-dry season.
You can read more about the amazing Thai cotton tree (also called Kapok) in the Green Galoshes blog Here.
So, back to Maew Maew. Yes, it's a BIG DEAL that she's not only safe and comforting, but also suckable and not laden with synthetic polyesters which leach nano-plastic particles into young babies. Who'da thunk a synthetic plush baby toy would be a health hazard, but it's true.
How can my Thai herbal & natural products business best support the ethnic Karen women who produce these cuties? By buying lots of them. And onselling them together with our own products. Cos one Maew Maew sale won't put enough food on the table or keep a young Karen child in school, but many many Maew Maews just might.
So this Christmas we have a sweet little Maew Maew Pure Baby Gift Box. Selling online and shipping globally.
Two tins of our Pure Baby Balm (think unfragranced beeswax balm with vetiver essential oil, coconut oil, anti-inflammatory sesame and pure vitamin E) and a cute little Maew Maew. In an eco-friendly gift box that can be reused.
We decided to randomly allocate the various skin/fur toned Maew Maews, to reflect the incredible ethnic diversity in our little corner of the world and to help promote not only racial tolerance but, indeed, a distinct LIKING for all of us with our uniquely coloured outsides.
Hand-crafting and Hand-made MATTERS and is a rare thing in an ever-increasingly automated world. The choice I made for Maew Maew (and the incredible people from Chiang Mai Cotton and tg=he villages around Hot) makes me smile. I also love that choosing a little Maew Maew is just one more vote against GMO commercial pesticide-laden western cotton.
We often think of needlework and handmade as one-off and not scalable, but I beg to differ. In my part of the world, hand-made continues to be a viable option for sustainable employment. And I'm gonna do my darndest to make sure they sell and enable more Karen women to support their families and put their kids in school.
Together We Can.
Get Your FREE Hive Account
Come check out my Pure Thai Naturals online store
