Indigenous weaving is the soul of indigenous people and proof that confirms our indigenous identity. Once I master the art of weaving, my dream is to teach the people in my community – Vannak Kula
Indigenous weaving is the soul of indigenous people and proof that confirms our indigenous identity. Once I master the art of weaving, my dream is to teach the people in my community – Vannak Kula
My name is Vannak Kula, I am 15 years old, and I am an Indigenous Bunong from Pou Rapet village, Krang Teh commune, Pechenda district, Mondulkiri province.
I joined as a student learning traditional Indigenous weaving at the Yok Sros Phlom Cultural Center (Doh Kromom Mountain) in May 2026. Counting up to now, I have been studying for about 5 months.
It was the first time in my life that I saw Indigenous weaving with my own eyes. On my first day of study, I felt that the craft of weaving was extremely difficult. However, deep down inside, I thought that if I didn’t give up right now, I would be able to do it in the future, and it wouldn’t be hard anymore. To weave a single scarf requires us to have great patience and deep focus. I still remember the first day I came to watch the weaving; at that time, I hadn’t started weaving yet. I just watched my friends and the teacher. About 4 weeks later, I began weaving for the very first time.
I started by learning how to arrange the threads, and then took the prepared threads to begin weaving. The process of weaving is not easy. However, every week I am very happy whenever we gather to weave together because I always learn new things, meet new people, and gain new experiences. From the beginning until today, I have successfully completed 5 scarves.
What motivates me to love weaving and keeps me coming to learn every week is my desire to preserve traditional weaving knowledge, gain a deeper understanding, share and promote this art, as well as gain new experiences. On top of that, I receive great support from my parents. I remember one day when I finished weaving a scarf, I brought it to show my parents. Even though it was my first piece and still had many flaws, they praised me and said it was very beautiful. As a daughter born into a family where no one knew how to weave, hearing these words of praise became a huge source of motivation that keeps inspiring me to continue weaving.
