habelefund Literacy

Thousandth Book Mailed in Innovative Yap Literacy Program

A new age-appropriate book, delivered by mail to the family’s post office box, from birth until a child’s fifth birthday.

That was the ambitious plan announced by Habele in the fall of 2020, kicking off “Young Island Readers” in Yap. The program aims to place books in the hands of young children where they spend most of their time: at home in the village.

Every participating child will enter first grade with sixty books of their very own. They will grow up playing with, listening to, and reading books. That is made possible through a partnership between Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library and the US nonprofit Habele.

This month the 1,000th book was mailed, marking a major milestone in the unprecedented effort to promote literacy at a population level in a Micronesian state.

The process is simple. When a child is born on Yap, the mother is provided a sign-up form at the hospital. She writes the child’s name and the post office mailing box their family uses. Forms are often provided again when a child is baptized, ensuring newborns don’t slip through the cracks. These forms are collected by students at Yap Catholic High School, where the details are entered into a book ordering system.

Monthly, each child is sent a new book, based on their age and phase of development. The books, sent at USPS media mail rates, arrive individually wrapped and addressed to the child.

Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library (DPIL) is a community-based program providing children with free, home-delivered books from birth to their 5th birthday. The Imagination Library was founded and created by American songwriter, musician, actress, author and business-woman, Dolly Parton, in her hometown of Sevierville, Tennessee in 1996. The home library encourages reading at home between parents, caregivers, grandparents, siblings and the child.

Habele is the local champion -or “partner”- for Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library in Micronesia. Established by former Peace Corps Volunteers, Habele is a US-based nonprofit, serving students and schools across the FSM since 2006.

Habele pre-funded the first cohort’s books for the full five years. “We wanted to ensure our promises to these budding young readers and their families would be kept” explained Habele founder Neil Mellen, who served as an elementary school librarian in Yap State while in the Peace Corps.

The impetus for Young Island Readers came from Stella H Talgumai, a mother and Early Childhood Education teacher. She met with Habele in Yap several years ago to discuss the nonprofit’s ongoing donations of books to school-based libraries. Talgumai, noted how her own child and students immediately ran toward books once they reached the local ECE center. She suggested tapping into that enthusiasm and natural curiosity by sending books directly to individual families.

Research shows that very early access to books, particularly at home, is a tremendous factor in reading interest and ability once a child is in elementary school. It has been found that books at home are a better predictor of reading skills later in life than are levels of family wealth or parental educational attainment. Young Island Readers offers a very direct, equitable, and cost-efficient means to pursue that goal of widespread early access.

“Our primary goal is to imbue a lifelong love of learning across a generation of children,” explained Mellen. “In doing so we also hope to showcase how US-FSM grassroots development partnerships can directly serve local individual needs in an equitable and efficient manner, without the need for costly overhead. Our immediate aim is to sustain the work and extend it to the Outer Islands.”

habelefund Scholarships

Habele Scholarships: Report Cards Show Achievement, Hard Work

Each year, former Peace Corps Volunteers and other Americans with a personal connection Micronesia donate to help Habele award tuition scholarships to ambitious students in the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM).

Since 2006, Habele’s K12 scholarships have ensured that bright, hardworking students have access to the best education possible. Based on need and merit, these scholarships largely serve remote outer island, rural village, and female students though all students across Yap, Chuuk, Pohnpei and Kosrae may apply.

A handful of independent schools scattered across Micronesia have consistently demonstrated graduation rates, test scores, and college entrance rates far beyond those in the government schools. Situated in the district capitals of Micronesia, these faith-based, nonprofit schools depend on modest tuition fees to operate.

Even with discounts, many of the lowest income Micronesian families cannot afford the modest costs of school such as Xaiver High School, Yap SDA School, Faith Christian Academy, or Our Lady of Mercy. Habele scholarships, which range on a cases-by-case basis from 50 to 75 percent of tuition owed, extend access to the most financially challenged students.

Twenty-six students were awarded scholarships for the 2021-22 school year, attending eight different elementary and high schools across three of the Micronesian states. The average scholarship for the year was $615.00.

Families and scholars commit to provide report cards over the course of the year, and those first quarter grades are now coming into Habele.

Case-in-point are LJ and Tyrah, a pair of cousins from the very sparsely populated Island of Asor on the Atoll of Ulithi. Ulithi, famous for its role as a secretive naval base and staging area during the War in the Pacific, is one of the Outer Islands of Yap State.The two young women are attending Yap International Christian (YIC) for intermediate school. For both it is the first time living and going to school beyond the shores of their tiny island home.

Despite the challenges of adjustment -Yap Proper has a population near 5,000, or nearly a hundred times that of Asor- both are doing well, and each earned a place on the YIC honor roll for the first quarter.

“We are just so proud of them,” explained Modesta Yangmog, the girls sponsor on Yap, who also leads the Asor Womens Association (AWA). “We took them out for dinner last night in reward and recognizing their achievements. I’m proud of their hard work, and they know it’s a long hard road ahead, but it helps so much knowing they can focus on their studies, and we can focus on supporting that, knowing Habele can help with the tuition.”

Habele’s founder, a former Peace Corps Volunteer who taught in the public schools of the Outer Islands of Yap, echoed Yangmog’s praise for the students. “The modest financial investments Habele’s donors and volunteers are making through K12 tuition scholarship are just that: modest. They pale in comparison to tremendous investment these students are making in themselves, their futures, and the long-term success and vibrancy of their islands,” explained Neil Mellen, of Habele. “Helping place these and other hardworking students and ambitious future leaders into the best possible classroom is the easy part.”

habelefund Weaving

Micronesian Looms: Weaving Connections in the US (6)

This is the sixth in a series of posts dealing with Weaving Connections, a project of Habele to sustain and preserve Micronesian backstrap weaving traditions among Island populations who’ve migrated to the United States mainland. More here.

Ongoing Work

Habele continues to build and send warping boards, loom frames, and weaving tools based on its published designs posted on the WeavingConnections.org website as it receives request from Remathau weavers in the mainland United States who are otherwise unable to build one or have one built for them.

Habele continues to update the design guides on WeavingConnections.org to reflect feedback received, lessons learned, and improvements.

Habele continues to examine and experiment with possible solutions to the challenges of procuring, crafting, or developing a sufficient substitute for weaving swords.

Opportunities for Evolution and Expansion

-Migrant Community on Guam and Hawaii

While half of FSM migrants now arrive in the US mainland, the other half are primarily located in the US Territory of Guam and the State of Hawaii. The strong and unanticipated volume of requests for support in creating and obtaining weaving equipment and tools from Guam and Hawaii indicate that those communities have the need and interest for further support.

This is particularly true among female migrants under thirty years of age, who are less likely to be cohabitating with, or be situated near, older men who historically have been the one to produce or procure these items.

-Weaving Swords

The Weaving sword, or hapop, remains the only item which we have been unable to produce and or publish a guide for fabricating, owing to the very unique characteristics of the tropical wood from which these have long been fabricated. The qualities of these hardwoods are necessary for the function of the tool, and the hapop is an essential and specific tool necessary for women to weave.

-Documenting the Lavalava

In the process of identifying and analyzing documentation about the fabrication and use of Caroline Island woven skirts, we failed to locate any text detailing in much depth the specifics of the skirts themselves. Most treatments were either very brief, or focused on the skirts’ role in cultural practices.

On the other hand, weavers recounted to us much about patterns, symbols, and other variable characteristics of the garment, indicating there is a broad, important, and as-yet undocumented realm of knowledge about the lavalavas and the cultural meaning contained within their design.

This is the sixth in a series of posts dealing with Weaving Connections, a project of Habele to sustain and preserve Micronesian backstrap weaving traditions among Island populations who’ve migrated to the United States mainland. More here.

habelefund Weaving

Micronesian Looms: Weaving Connections in the US (5)

This is the fifth in a series of posts dealing with Weaving Connections, a project of Habele to sustain and preserve Micronesian backstrap weaving traditions among Island populations who’ve migrated to the United States mainland. More here.

Creation of Website Content

The WeavingConnections.org domain was purchased and a draft website laid out. The site was designed to offer general context on the culture of weaving within the FAS, firsthand insights to the importance women placed on weaving, a detailed accounting of all the relevant equipment and weaving tools, as well as simple, photo-based instructions for the fabrication of these items.

Based on suggestions from weavers within the US mainland, the site would also include information guiding weavers to vendors that offer the correct thread for this style of weaving. Photographs were again solicited from former Peace Corps, collectors, and anthropologists to compliment some of the more contemporary graphics with historical ones.

Launch of Website

WeavingConnections.org was launched in a beta form in December of 2020. Access was limited to a core group of contributors and participants who provided feedback, identified shortcomings, and developed revisions.

Publication and Communications Outreach

WeavingConnections.org was officially launched in February of 2021. Earned, shared, and sponsored content on social media were used to raise awareness and drive initial traffic. These included posts of participants and contributors weaving, wearing Weaving Connections t-shirts, and/or showcasing warping boards, looms, and weaving tools either provided by Habele or made with Habele’s fabrication guides. In addition to efforts through social media, content was developed and distributed through the Habele blog as well as the K-Press newspaper.

Unanticipated Needs and Challenges

-Propriety of Traditional Skills

With a few outspoken exceptions, weavers made clear their strong support for the development and proliferation of guides to create weaving materials and equipment while simultaneously expressing equally passionate reservation about the documentation, publication, and distribution of guides to the practices of weaving.

The insightful analogy made by one weaver was that the warping board, frame loom, and weaving tools constituted the “hardware” upon which all weaving is based, and which must be available to as many actual and prospective weavers as possible. However, the practical applied skills of using this hardware to weave in the uniquely Remathau ways, the proverbial “software,” was not something weavers felt was appropriate to document and distribute.

While the context, concerns, and motivations are nuanced, broadly the reservation is founded on: 1. a concern that non-Remathau individuals would begin to practice – and potentially profit from – this very specific and unique form of weaving; and 2. that the oral transmission and in-person mentoring that unites generations across familial, village and islands lines would be lost, rendering the preservation and sustainment of the weaving process culturally hollow.

Though an outspoken minority initially encouraged Habele to document and distribute guides to the weaving, the larger consensus was agreed that this was not prudent, despite the fact that Habele’s application for the TAP grant specifically articulated out initial intention to “…publish videos detailing key aspects of fabrication of loom and basics of assembly and usage to compliment published specifications.” It was this “usage” that our partners and clients requested we interpret to mean installation and setup of the equipment, rather than the processes of warping and weaving, which they were passing along in-person and through video chats but did not want Habele to record and publish.

-Need for Looms among single women, and residents of GU and HI

The project proposal envisioned development and publication of a design guide, premised on the understanding that while migrants on Guam and Hawaii lived in or near extended family groups and had access to looms, migrants in the mainland US were more dispersed, but living in nuclear families (including males) who could build the boards, looms, and tools.

As noted above, Habele received a high volume of requests from younger women in Guam and Hawaii who indicated there were no relative adult males in proximity who could build them a loom. Habele also received many requests from women of all ages in the US mainland who similarly sought looms, citing a lack of male relatives within driving distance who could assemble one. While Remathau women are eminently cable of fabricating loom frames and warp boards themselves -as was clearly demonstrated throughout this project in the prototyping phase- the participating women reported without exception strong desire to adhere to the traditional distribution of labor across gender lines for the building of weaving equipment.

Though the basic premise of publishing a simple design guide was clearly working, as evidenced by feedback posted online, emails, and social media messages, it has become clear that migrants in Guam and Hawaii face many of the same obstacles as migrants in the mainland United States to sustaining and preserving their weaving traditions.

-Balance of Ease to Build and Compactness

As noted above, there is an intrinsic tension between the design and fabrication of equipment that is simple and inexpensive and those designs which are easier to transport and store. Ease of transportation and storage remains an important priority because many would-be weavers have needed to have their boards and frames fabricated by Habele and its volunteers, or other off-site relatives, and then shipped to them. These women often experience cramped living spaces and periodic relocations, making compactness and transportability of looms and boards very desirable.

-Weaving Swords

Fifteen distinct weaving tools, or peripherals, are traditionally used in in Remathau weaving. Habele was able to provide practical guidance for the purchase, fabrication, or substitution of all but one of these tools.

A weaving sword is also known as a batten or beater. In both Ulithian and Woleaian it is called the hapop. In practice, it defines and extends the sheds to allow the shuttle to pass, and it is also used to tighten and beat weft as woven.

It is a single edge shaped wooden tool that averages three feet long, 2 ¼ inches wide, and ¾ inch thick on the flat edge. The sword must be at least several inches longer than the total width of the warp so that it extends outside of the warp during weaving. There is a subtle curvature to the top face when the sword lies flat.

Weaving swords are traditionally made from very hard woods, which is essential for having a sword of sufficient weight for creating the traditional warp-faced fabric, while maintaining a sufficiently sharp edge. Specifically, they are crafted of ironwood, the Casuarina litorea L, known locally to the Remathau as weighu.

While swords can be made of store-bought hardwoods, such as oak, these lack the weight and density weavers require. Oak sold at home improvement stores tends to be red oak (Quercus rubra). The densest form of oak, Southern Live Oak (Quercus virginiana), can be purchased in the US but is not often found commercially, and only rarely in boards of appropriate size.

The only woods commonly found in North America which truly approach the hardness of ironwood are Black Ironwood (Krugiodendron ferreum), Desert Ironwood (Olneya tesota) and Mountain Mahogany (Cercocarpus spp), but these are either cost or shape prohibitive.

This being the case, Habele is not able to provide much practical guidance to weavers in the mainland US, all of whom must have a sword to weave. The directions currently posted on WeavingConnections.org reflect this:

“…Remathau in the mainland US seeking a weaving sword should look to friends and relatives back home to send them a hapop or contact Habele for help. Alternatively, they may try to fabricate an ersatz sword using oak, but will need to use Live Oak, also called Southern Live Oak (Quercus virginiana) to ensure a sufficient density.”

This is the fifth in a series of posts dealing with Weaving Connections, a project of Habele to sustain and preserve Micronesian backstrap weaving traditions among Island populations who’ve migrated to the United States mainland. More here.

habelefund Literacy

Targeted college book donations highlight US-Palau bonds

A group of off-duty US Army soldiers in Hawaii have teamed up with professors and students at two American universities to provide targeted donations of textbooks for Dr. Kris Kitalong’s students at Palau Community College in the Republic of Palau. Dr. Kitalong is a native of Palau, having taught at the College for many years. He also serves as Vice President at Palau Community College’s Cooperative Research Extension.

Professors and students at Brigham Young University Hawaii and Northern Arizona University were eager to help. Dr. Naomi Lee, Assistant Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Northern Arizona University recruited students and research assistants to locate and pack texts that Dr. Kitalong and his students needed. Kikiana Hurwitz, University Laboratory Manager and instructor in Biochemistry and Biology at BYU Hawaii, also organized volunteers among her students to find and box books.

Coordination for the donation came from Lt Colonel John Yoshimori and several of his peers in the US Army. Their unit, Task Force Oceania, was established to provide continuous support in the Pacific Island countries located in Oceania, assist U.S. embassies as needed, and reinforce lasting and meaningful relationships in the region. The soldiers volunteered their time after work hours to help pull the book donation together.


A US-based nonprofit, established by former Peace Corps Volunteer who served in Palau and neighboring Micronesia, pitched in to coverer the costs of postage with funds donated by former Peace Corps volunteers and other individual Americans.

“Knowledge is power!  We must provide the next generation opportunities to improve ones self, to improve today for a better tomorrow,” explained John Yoshimori of Aiea. “It is my kuliana “responsibility” to ensure that the world I was born in is a better place for not just my children, but the children of the world.  We all have to malama pono “take care” of each other if we are to achieve this vision.”

Over the last six months more than a hundred boxes of books, totaling over three thousand pounds, have been gathered by John and other Habele volunteers for public schools across Palau and Micronesia.


“This is a great, collaborative project,” explained Neil Mellen, founder of the US nonprofit Habele. Educators in Palau, University professors, staff and students in Arizona and Hawaii, and individual volunteers throughout working to pair resources with specific locally stated needs. It is exciting to see how the long standing and historic partnership between the US and Palau works on such a personal, individual level.”

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habelefund Weaving

Micronesian Looms: Weaving Connections in the US (4)

This is the fourth in a series of posts dealing with Weaving Connections, a project of Habele to sustain and preserve Micronesian backstrap weaving traditions among Island populations who’ve migrated to the United States mainland. More here.

Further Engagement of On-Island Weavers and Craftsmen

Publication of photos of initial designs and prototypes on social media spurred a further wave of input from women weavers and male craftsmen in the US, Yap, and beyond. These parties provided photos of their own looms, boards, and weaving tools as well as detailed feedback and suggestions on the evolving prototypes. Themes of the feedback included the strong preference for warping boards that could fold for storage, and to a lesser degree, loom frames that could be dis- and reassembled, as well as boards that could be laid out for multiple of the warping peg patterns commonly used throughout Yap State.

We also noted trends in feedback that stressed the importance of loom frames that could be easily secured to walls, as well as strong (but varied) feedback on tabletop versus floor use that guided the design of the warping boards.

At this point, as photos were being posted on social media, Habele began to directly receive requests for warping boards, looms, and weaving tools. Habele strongly communicated that the project was intended to serve Remathau islanders (Outer Island Yapese) living within the mainland US, and that the project was designed to provide a do-it-yourself guide for individuals to make their own items.

Still, many requests were received from women living on Guam and Hawaii, and many requests were made by women (on the mainland and otherwise) who indicated that they would have a difficult time finding a male relative who could build the items, even once provided the detailed instructions. Specifically, we received requests from single women or women living in groups with children but without adult Remathau male household members.

Development of Designs

Final designs were determined. These balanced the initial goals of a simple DIY guide, with flexibility to add or adapt improvements for storage and transportation, and integrating advancements and variations shared with, or developed by, the team.

This is the fourth in a series of posts dealing with Weaving Connections, a project of Habele to sustain and preserve Micronesian backstrap weaving traditions among Island populations who’ve migrated to the United States mainland. More here.

habelefund Scholarships

Tuition scholarships highlight American-Micronesian ties

Individual Americans have pooled private donations to help promising students in Micronesia attend the island nation’s top performing independent schools.

Habele, a US nonprofit established by former Peace Corps Volunteers, has awarded merit and needs-based tuition scholarships since 2006. It is the only US nonprofit exclusively focused on serving students and schools within the Federated States.

Thirty-seven complete, on-time applications from across Micronesia were received ahead of the June 30th annual submission deadline. Based on the money raised from individual donors Habele was able to award twenty-five tuition scholarships to students attending eight different elementary and high schools in three FSM states.

Checks for the scholarships have been mailed to the schools, and families will be also be notified by mail.

“We are tremendously proud of the scholarship recipients, and take great satisfaction to report that scholars’ grades in 2020-21 were some of the highest since we started the program in 2006,” explained Habele founder Neil Mellen. “There were also four 2020-21 scholars who completed their secondary studies this spring. Those students were Cassandra Hagiltaw at Pohnpei Catholic, Crystal Ruerngun Loochaz and Shereeca Pairui at Yap SDA, and Maselyann “MC” Suemog Yangr at Yap Catholic High School.”

In the spring, Maselyann, a Habele scholar since 2016, wrote to Habele about the importance of the program. “I am grateful for your help in achieving my goals. You have helped me to stay in school, and now I am only two months away from graduating high school. I am very thankful to have gotten the chance to make it this far with a great education and a school community that has become my second family and home.”

Maselyann graduated YCHS with nearly all “A’s” on her final report card and is now headed to the University of Guam, where she will pursue a degree in chemistry.

Among the twenty-five scholarships awarded are three Memorial Scholarships. These are a special type of Habele K12 tuition grant. They honor the legacy of Americans whose life or work demonstrated exceptional commitment to the people of Micronesia, and embodied the best of the longstanding US-Micronesian partnership. These include the Lee Huddleston, Dr. Marshall Wees, and Leona Peterson Memorial Scholarships.

“I saw first-hand the amazing results of Habele’s efforts throughout Micronesia, reaching students at the grassroots level, even on the most remote of the outer islands,” observed Ambassador Robert A. Riley, formerly the US Ambassador to Micronesia and now a Director at the East-West Center, a think tank in Hawaii. “Habele fulfills a unique and critical role in FSM’s development.”

“The name “HABELE” is a wish come true for our children,” explained Lazarus Ulith in a note sent in with a student’s report card last month. He observed the nonprofit’s name is itself a play on words meaning both the future tense of “to be” and more figuratively “to achieve an ambition.” “You make it a reality which is why you make a difference in their future” said Ulith.

Those interested in learning more can apply, or support the program online at www.habele.org
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habelefund Weaving

Micronesian Looms: Weaving Connections in the US (3)

This is the third in a series of posts dealing with Weaving Connections, a project of Habele to sustain and preserve Micronesian backstrap weaving traditions among Island populations who’ve migrated to the United States mainland. More here

Development of Initial Prototypes
First, Habele fabricated a scale model, and then a full-size initial specimen, of a warping board and a framed loom was fabricated. Similarly, each of the peripheral weaving tools was obtained, crafted, or assembled. This allowed the master weaver, now joined by a former Peace Corps Volunteer skilled in both Carolinian and Western-style weaving, to begin testing the models.

 

Habele and our craftsman carefully observed and documented the weaving process in an effort to identify the practical purpose for each piece of equipment and material identifying each context of how -and if- substitutions or alterations could be made that would not impair, and possibly improve, the weaver’s work.

 

An initial round of changes and improvements were made that allowed for stronger joints, simpler cuts, and the use of smaller (less expensive) boards for the frame. Similar adjustments were made to the board design, as well as revisions to account for varied weaver preferences in the use of the warping board on either a floor or a table top. Each of the fifteen peripheral components, or “weaving tools”, were either crafted or purchased, and substitutions, modifications, and improvements were tested by the weavers.
Review and Refinement of Designs
At this point, there emerged a bifurcation in the scope and purpose of the design:

 

On one hand, very simple designs would allow FAS migrants within the US to produce the board, frame, and most peripherals necessary for weaving themselves, even with a limited budget and few woodworking tools;

 

On the other hand, improvements to design would allow large pieces, notably the loom frame and the warping board, to be easily collapsed for storage and transportation. These were significant attributes for weavers living in more crowded housing situations and moving with some regularity (both important considerations for our target audience). A strong preference was voiced by many weavers in all locales for these traits, but the use of hinges, clasps, and threaded studs with removable wingnuts added complexity to the building of the equipment. This was at odds with our goal to simplify that process.
Broadly, Habele adopted a two-track response. Some of the initial prototypes were retrofitted for easier transportation and storage, and some of the newer prototypes were fabricated with these characteristics from the start. The designs for the fixed, standard models were revised slightly to allow for modifications at any point, allowing the builder to choose the level of complexity based on budget and access to tools and equipment.

 

This is the third in a series of posts dealing with Weaving Connections, a project of Habele to sustain and preserve Micronesian backstrap weaving traditions among Island populations who’ve migrated to the United States mainland. More here
habelefund Robotics

Robo Day in Yap showcases STEM Achievement in Micronesia

The dust has settled on Yap’s 9th annual Robo Day competition, an exhibition of technical skill and achievement by robotics clubs from across the remote islands of Yap State. Provisioned and supported by Habele, clubs from participating high schools enjoy hands-on robotics learning throughout the year, before gathering to show off their skills to the community in this friendly challenge.

The 2021 Yap Robo Day championship went to the team from the remote Outer Islands High School (OIHS), located on the tiny Ulithi Atoll about one hundred miles east of Yap. Despite being one of the more remote high schools on the planet, the robotics club continues to thrive in the Habele Robo League. This year’s victory represents the second championship win for OIHS in the last three years.

Second place went to the Yap High School robo club, the only public high school on the main island of Yap. Third place was awarded to Yap Catholic High School, the very first school in the Robo League.

Robotics offers Micronesian students a strong grounding in problem solving. It sparks learning by letting them experiment with ideas in real world situations, while cultivating local ownership of the state Robo Leagues.

Yap Robo Day would not happen without the time and effort of school administrators, teachers, the State Department of Education, and engaged community members. We congratulate all the competitors on a job well done, and look forward to another year of exciting learning and growth. 

“We are tremendously proud of the hard-working students and educators of the Robo League all across Micronesia,” explained Habele founder, Neil Mellen. “This practical and empowering effort is just one way we can deepen the strong, stable, and sustainable partnership between the American and Micronesian Peoples.”

habelefund Weaving

Micronesian Looms: Weaving Connections in the US (2)

This is the second in a series of posts dealing with Weaving Connections, a project of Habele to sustain and preserve Micronesian backstrap weaving traditions among Island populations who’ve migrated to the United States mainland. More here

Cataloging of Materials and Equipment

Habele and our technical leads began by listing all the items needed to weave as well as each item’s sub-components. After examining historic and contemporary English naming conventions used for loom weaving, we selected preferred and secondary English translations for each item and developed a taxonomy for all the equipment and materials. We also settled on preferred spelling for each item in the three distinct Austronesian languages of Ulithian, Woleaian, and Satawalese.

Item by item, we matched photographs and sketches we had gathered, and further solicited and sought additional photos and specimens. We began the process of identifying which variations were most common, and which parts and components would be most difficult to obtain (or fabricate) among our intended target audience of FSM migrants in the mainland United States.

Finally, we considered and systematized the place-based differences between Ulithian, Woleaian and Satawalese weaving, most notably in the configuration of the warping board pegs, and considered what, if any, design patterns and decisions could account for these variations in a simple and standardized way.

This is the second in a series of posts dealing with Weaving Connections, a project of Habele to sustain and preserve Micronesian backstrap weaving traditions among Island populations who’ve migrated to the United States mainland. More here