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Indigo Loom House A communal textile workshop for “Fforgotten” elderly weavers, whose families have abandoned rural farming culture/craft for city jobs

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Nationality
Thailand
Group
Chat Architects
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#ElderlyWeavers #TextileWorkshop #CulturalPreservation #CommunityCraft

About Project

Once a thriving center of rice farming and weaving culture, Sakon Nakhon in northeastern Thailand has seen its traditions decline rapidly as younger generations migrated to the cities. Elder artisans left behind are left behind without the chance to pass on their knowledge.

The Indigo Loom House project was formed to offer solutions to this crisis. Through reassembling wooden beams and pillars from old Thai houses with dismantled looms and tools, a new public space where architecture and weaving merge was born. Now, this open structure functions as a workshop for dyeing and weaving with locally grown indigo and natural plants.

More than just a workplace, it has become a community hub and informal weaving school. Here, elder weavers gather again to work their looms, share stories, and teach both younger locals and international visitors. The project was realized through the collaboration of artist Prach “Mann” Niyomkar and Chat Architects, while Chulalongkorn University’s INDA Studio provided a blueprint. Upon completion, villagers painted the walls in indigo together as an act of celebration of their identity and belonging.

The initiative left a significant social impact. Indigo Loom House reconnects “forgotten artisans” with their communities and reintroduces traditional techniques in a contemporary way, creating new market value. This is an attractive incentive for younger generations to return home and help revitalize declining rural life.

Currently active in Sakon Nakhon, the project also serves as a model for other agricultural regions where weaving and farming traditions are fading. Indigo Loom House is more than architecture. It is a community cultural center that bridges generations, reinterprets tradition, and reimagines the rural economy. By preserving artisanal heritage while inviting future participation, it presents a sustainable vision for rural societies.

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