Kindom: Respectful to Indigenous Craft

KINDOM is an an online boutique offering a collection of thoughtfully-made products produced using sustainable, natural, reclaimed, and indigenous materials. Staying true to the concept of slow fashion, each collection is limited and exclusive, due to the finite materials the brand receives for its production line.

Claire from KINDOM reached out to me about their beautiful new collection made using a mix of eco-friendly and indigenous textiles. Their responsibly produced pieces respect both humans and nature, supporting and celebrating indigenous tribes and their cultures.

The tribal patterns used in the pieces were created by indigenous Apayao artisans from the Cordilleras in the northern part Philippines, using handwoven techniques passed down through the generations.

There are beautiful indigenous fashion and design traditions from all parts of the world. It’s important to respect these designs and traditions and reject their appropriation for commercial use – essentially stealing the ideas and arts of others without permission, credit, or fair compensation. This is especially critical as indigenous people around the world are facing exploitation and a man-induced climate crisis.

There are 370 million Indigenous people around the world and spread across more than 90 countries. They belong to more than 5,000 different Indigenous peoples and speak more than 4,000 languages. Indigenous people represent less than 5% of the world’s population.

Although they have different customs and cultures, they face the same harsh realities: eviction from their ancestral lands, being denied the opportunity to express their culture, physical attacks and treatment as second-class citizens.

Research has found that while the world’s 370 million indigenous peoples make up less than 5% of the total human population, they manage or hold tenure over 25 percent of the world’s land surface which is the home to over 80% of our planet’s biodiversity and rich in natural resources, such as oil, gas, timber and minerals. However these lands are routinely appropriated, sold, leased or simply plundered and polluted by governments and private companies. (Amnesty International)

HERE ARE 5 WAYS THAT YOU CAN BE A GENUINE ALLY TO THE INDIGENOUS COMMUNITY

1. Saviours are not needed, solidarity is. It’s not enough to show up in solidarity and speak out against the unjust system, we have to do what is within our power to dismantle the system and differentiate ourselves from the opponents of these groups.
2. The most important actions are political. Join a party or a campaign group that make the indigenous population and their land rights in your country a priority.
3. Support organisations that assist indigenous villages around the worlds in maintaining self-sufficiency.
4. Support indigenous art, culture, and businesses and reject their appropriation.
5. Educate yourself and your children on indigenous history, culture, and activism.

Head over to KINDOM to check out their beautiful pieces in collaboration with indigenous Apayao artisans from the Cordilleras in the northern part Philippines

www.kindomshop.com

This is a sponsored post and all the pieces are genuinely loved! Help support brands that support the indigenous community and make it a social norm to shop ethically.