RedGreen Rivers

10/15/2026

The art of HMong batik and indigo dyeing dates back thousands of years. We had the privilege of learning from this cultural inheritor in Wenshan (Paaj Tawg Laag), Yunnan in China. We spent the day practicing batik using honey beeswax and ended with dyeing the fabric in a large vat of indigo. RedGreen Rivers values these artisans and commit to lifting up their craft.

10/08/2026

We are collaborating with Hmong Museum to document the art of batik. We invite elders or anyone with batik knowledge to join the project. A stipend will be offered to participants. Deadline to respond is October 16th.

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1eKEt1bETu/?mibextid=wwXIfr

10/05/2026

Hello dear ! Apologies for the long silence. We were traveling in Laos and China and off of social media the entire time. There’s so much to share!

We harvested our h**p garden in Wisconsin. Update posts to come soon.

Meanwhile, enjoy a few photos from our trip. We went back to meet our batik and h**p artisans and learned from new ones. Kabzuag Vaj Ka Os Ly Chhaya Chhoum

08/01/2026

We are pleased to support@kaoskarly Ka Oskar Ly in their HMong Batik project. If you are near the Madison, Wisconsin area, sign up for a session to learn about batik. https://www.eventbrite.com/e/healing-from-the-roots-hmoob-batik-tickets-1995334568407

07/18/2026

Are you following RedGreen Rivers? Our h**p continues to grow healthy and vigorous as we document how it performs in the Midwest’s weather conditions. This season, we’re also comparing two planting methods: traditional Hmong broadcast planting and row planting. So far, both plots are thriving, with the broadcast-planted h**p currently growing taller than the row-planted h**p. We’ll continue monitoring both methods throughout the growing season.

07/03/2026

Every tradition begins with an act of intention.

Before planting h**p, HMong families have long made offerings to the spirits of the land, honoring the relationship between people and the earth before asking it to provide. We continued that tradition before planting this garden. Only weeks later, our plants are growing quickly. A reminder that traditions continue to live when they're practiced, shared, and passed on.

What traditions do you carry?

06/27/2026

Just 11 days after planting, our h**p is growing fast. Most plants are now 5–7 cm tall, with some reaching nearly 10 cm. We're also starting to see second nodes appear on the strongest seedlings.
Thanks to frequent rainfall, the plants have had consistent moisture and are showing healthy early growth.

Every measurement tells part of the story. Follow us to see what their height will be next week!

06/19/2026

Every seed carries a story. Every harvest helps preserve a legacy.

For generations, h**p was woven into the daily lives, traditions, and knowledge of many HMong families. As communities migrated and adapted to new places, much of that knowledge became fragmented or lost.

Follow us this season, as RedGreen Rivers is honored to learn alongside the Moving Mountains, Freedom, Inc. and the University of Wisconsin–Madison as we plant h**p and explore the connection between traditional HMong knowledge and contemporary research. We are also grateful to learn from an experienced h**p grower from Thailand, Paaj Ci Xeem Yaaj and from HMong American elders who remember planting h**p with their parents as young teenagers in Laos.

Together, this partnership reconnects cultural wisdom, preserving valuable knowledge, and creating opportunities for future generations to learn from both the past and the present. By bringing together research, lived experience, and cultural memory, we hope to help carry this knowledge forward.

04/28/2026

01/01/2026

Dear RedGreen Rivers Community,

As 2025 comes to a close, we want to extend our heartfelt appreciation for your unwavering support. Whether you joined our events, purchased handmade products, shared our mission with others, or simply believed in the power of women’s artistry — you helped make this an extraordinary year.

RedGreen Rivers has always been more than a marketplace. Yes, we proudly partner with women artisans across the Mekong Region to bring handcrafted products to life using traditional skills passed down through generations. But equally important, our work is sparking deeper conversations about responsible consumerism — reminding the world that who we buy from matters, and that craft, culture, and community are deeply connected.

This year, your support made remarkable milestones possible. One of the brightest highlights was welcoming master fiber artist Li Yang Sawangsaroensap from Tak Province, Thailand, to the U.S. for a month-long artist residency. During her stay, Li shared her knowledge of HMong h**p cultivation and backstrap weaving with more than 300 community members across Minnesota and Wisconsin, passing on a skill rooted in heritage, resilience, and women’s ingenuity.

We are also thrilled to share that we completed an 11-minute documentary, Ib Txuj: One Single Thread, capturing the intimate and meticulous process of HMong h**p weaving. This film stands as a tribute to the women who have carried this tradition forward, thread by thread. Please watch on the link below and subscribe to our YouTube channel .

We wish everyone a very happy New Year!!

**p

Ib Txuj, One Single Thread is a powerful documentary that traces the ancient HMong practice of backstrap weaving — a single thread connecting generations of ...