LOTUS SILK / series / world
INLE LAKE, MYANMAR
There is a place where people walk on water. A way of life formed by its unique setting. Inle Lake is the second largest in Myanmar. But with an average depth of 7 ft, it is also a very shallow one.
To see above the floating aquatic plants and keep both hands free to cast their nets, Intha fishermen have developed a unique method to row with their leg while standing. The boats are built to skim the surface and part through the plants, with small engines that can hinge up and down to avoid entangling in the roots. Farms are built to float on the water, to avoid flooding when the seasonal water levels rise and fall. Even homes are built on stilts above the water’s surface.
This unique place is the home to a rare fabric, lotus silk. Delicate fibers are harvested by hand from the stems of the lotus flowers that grow thick here. Once the yarn is spun, the fabric is weaved by hand on wooden looms. A slow but honored process, as the fabric was traditionally reserved only for Buddha and high clerics.
To see all this firsthand reminds me of the treasure that is our diversity. The way our unique cultures bring such vibrancy and color to our world.
But equally striking to me was that no matter where I seemed to go, no matter how different the setting, there is always something familiar. When I look just a bit deeper beneath the surface, I find the roots of the same desires and the passions that I’ve found growing in me. And I realize, we are not that different after all.
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