Green Weaving Center
From past to future
From the sun to nature
From color to energy
From plants to the clothes
From foods for our mouth to foods for our skin
From foods for our eyes to foods for our minds
From mothers to daughters
From Ego to Eco
From self healing to social transformation
From the villages to the world
From my heart to your heart until our hearts become one heart
The Green Weaving Center is designed to be a Himalayan Artistic Mandala, an authentic artistic life experience designed to incubate a model for Gross National Happiness (GNH) in education and eco-business. Through such experiences one will be guided to a happy work and life (GNH life) and to transform one’s daily life into life. This will foster Happy Leaders for communities and society, and a good earth citizen model for the world.
The Green Weaving Center project is a joint effort of Academy of Himalayan Art and Child Development (AHACD) and Bhutan Youth Development Foundation (YDF, bhutanyouth.org).
The project aims to empower women in the right way and bring up the awareness and education level of women, which is essential to the well-being of children and happiness of families and communities. The Green Weaving Center will nourish women in a holistic and creative way and bring them important knowledge and skills in the arts, child development, and sustainable living. The women who will study and work in the Green Weaving Center will not only become more knowledgeable weavers, but also green fashion leaders and green household keepers. Most importantly, they will learn to nourish the next generation of Bhutan.
Green Weaving Center is a seed of beauty and truth planted in the soil of Gross National Happiness.
Eco-economic value chain
Green Weaving Center is also designed to demonstrate a Green fashion eco-economic value chain. Conventional economic systems consider production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. According to GNH values, all economic activities must be carried out consistent with a set of principles and standards (gnhcentrebhutan.org). This perspective gives rise to economic outcomes closer to the original meaning of the word economy, ‘household management’. This intention to achieve better cultural, social, environmental, and financial outcomes will be manifested through the Green Weaving Center. The core goals in line with GNH will be achieved through five primary focus areas as summarized in Figure 1 Mandala and presented in detail below.