Festival of Natural Fibres 2022

Each year for the past 5 years, The Festival of Natural Fibres has aimed to create a welcoming space for all those
enthusiastic, entranced, or simply curious about natural fibres. A community of farmers, researchers, designers,
makers, activists and entrepreneurs will come together to present panel discussions, screenings, craft workshops,
stalls and an exhibition – and we would love for you to join our gentle call to action: learn about natural fibres such
as hemp, nettle, flax, wool and cotton, engage in discussions, discover traditional craft processes, plant seeds for
potential collaborations, and directly experience the wondrous potential of natural fibres.

The weekend will begin with an inauguration, followed by a communal spinning ‘orchestra’ with portable spinning
wheels and spindles. Our focus on Saturday will be on the intricacies of the value chain including: Growing,
Processing, Making & Designing. We will be joined by industry experts to those planting the very first seeds in their
natural fibre journeys, including Jennifer Hunter and Andy Wear from Fernhill Farm working with conservation,
regenerative agriculture, rural skills and natural fibres, Amit Dalvi working on building an indigienous cotton-to-cloth
system on the ground in rural India, and Rachel Sheila Kan of Ecosystem Incubator, a collaborative community
working towards new economic values. The day will round off with a Town Hall Meeting entitled ‘Creating Textile
Connections’ where we will discuss implementing natural fibre education into curriculums, sustainable textile
tourism, and more.

On Sunday, we will open up our discussion to ‘Regenerative & New Economies’ talking about everything from
Doughnut Economy to degrowth, to the principles of a non-violent economy, and their relations to natural fibres. We
will be screening ‘The Last Weavers of Kotpad’ documenting a village with unbroken traditional knowledge of natural
dyeing and weaving. We are especially excited to announce a premiere screening of ‘The Nettle Dress’, a film by
nettle expert, Allan Brown and director, Dylan Howitt, who take us through Allan’s meticulous and symbolic
production of a dress, from foraging nettle fibres, to learning to handspin and weave, followed by a Q&A.

Throughout the weekend, we will host a series of craft workshops including hand-spinning workshops on a
peti-charkha led by social activist and generational handspinner Asha Buch, saori weaving workshops led by Erna
Janine of Freeweaver SAORI Studio, embroidery and beadwork workshops sponsored by Sabrang Arts, our
on-going communal patchwork project, a mending workshop with Nadia from TLZ Movement, and block-printing.
We welcome you, whether beginner or expert, to join us in diving into tactility. Links for these paid and
donation-based workshops will be available through Eventbrite.

A curated natural fibre exhibition will also showcase projects such as Allan Brown’s nettle dress, a travelling
exhibition of indigenous cotton, wool, silk and jute by Freeweaver Saori Studio, to a graduation project exploring the
potential of waste eggshells by Saumya Singh. We will have an array of stalls each selling beautiful, handcrafted
natural fibre goods including clothing, ceramics and homeware from the likes of Contemporary Hempery and
Caravan Sarai, and a curation of books by Chelsea Green Publishing – a wonderful chance to pick up some early
Christmas gifts for loved ones at the same time as supporting sustainable, independent designers and makers.
We very much look forward to welcoming you to the Festival of Natural Fibres 2022, and hope for another fruitful
gathering of learning, inspiration and collaboration.

ORGANISERS
Khadi London started as a social enterprise to support ethical fashion designers and small to medium enterprises
that produce ethical fashion and homewares. It is now transiting to a charity to support action, research and
education programmes for regenerative textiles and textile products.
Khadi London is a founding member of the Khadi Initiative, which was formed to organise ‘A Way Ahead: Ethical
Khadi’ at the Fashion & Textile Museum, London, in 2017. Success of the event established a network of those
actively involved in addressing issues around ethical fashion and fabrics. The conversations and actions continue.
www.khadi.london

Freeweaver SAORI Studio is London’s registered Japanese SAORI weaving studio, with workshops + more led by
Erna Janine from her studio at Craft Central. www.freeweaver.co.uk

VENUE
Craft Central is providing the perfect venue for October’s event at its home in the Forge – a magnificent Grade 2
listed building, – part of 19th Century ship and girder bridge building history – which now contains an
architect-designed free-standing birchwood construction housing business studios, workspaces, meeting rooms
and a large exhibition space. www.craftcentral.org.uk

GETTING THERE
5 minutes walk from Mudchute DLR / 10 minutes walk from Island Gardens DLR
10 minutes walk from Greenwich Foot Tunnel / 20 minutes walk from Canary Wharf
2 minutes walk from Clipper services at Masthouse Terrace Pier
Frequent buses from Canary Wharf, Limehouse, Highbury and Islington, Old Street, and Stratford
Jubilee Line and Elizabeth Line meet the DLR at Canary Wharf

TICKETS
Online: £7.50/£5 (Concessions) + booking fee
On the Door: £9/£5 (Concessions