Rainbow Fiber Co-op Fundraiser.
Below is the original text as posted on our website, at the time of the fundraiser:
“Rainbow Fiber Co-Op is a Diné-led and shepherd owned agricultural co-operative established to improve the financial sustainability and equitable market outcomes for three of the largest flocks of Diné dits’ozí (Navajo-Churro sheep) remaining on the Navajo reservation.” (Taken from the Rainbow Fiber Co-Op Website)
This fundraiser is our way of supporting this critically important work being done by indigenous wool workers.
This beautiful selection of Navajo-Churro wool has been hand dyed by Daki in her organically raised indigo vat using natural indigo and plant dyes from the forest in which we live.
It is our privilege to be able to support the protection of Diné-raised Navajo-Churro flocks, so this important breed, the indigenous shepherds who raise them, and the Diné communities they are a part of may all benefit from the significant wool buying efforts spearheaded by the Rainbow Fiber Co-Op.
Please visit the Rainbow Fiber Co-Op website where you can learn more about this first-of-its-kind indigenous project, and read more about the two women behind the project, Nikyle Begay and Kelli Dunaj.
What happened:
Within 3 hours, our yarn bundles sold out. Not only that, but all of the contributors donated (nearly) double of the amount we asked! While we were still reeling from this incredible display of generosity, the donations kept coming in, and when the week was up, we managed to raise nearly 1200 dollars, for the Rainbow Fiber Co-op. Our hearts overflowing with gratitude, we closed the fundraiser, and sent the donated amount to the Co-op, with our warmest regards.
Why did we do this?
In my birth lands there’s a Theravada Buddhist tradition of දාන Dhane. A ritual undertaken on the eve of significant life events. Moments in life where there is a sense of karmic momentum in an upward, conscious direction.
At its root දාන Dhane is essentially this; that before you claim any of the karmic fruits that await you as a result of whatever significant life event you are entering into, your first act will not be one of taking, but one of offering. Offering with no expectation of gain, undertaken with a sense of humility, given to those considered to be the guardians of the spiritual-energetic-ancestral landscape of the land you live on. On these northern American lands I’ve always recognized these guardians to be its indigenous peoples & the profound culture they em-body. I discovered the incredibly important work of @rainbowfibercoop last October when a friend shared a documentary about Navajo weavers & Diné shepherds. Since then I’ve quietly championed this crucial project here on my Instagram. Watching eagerly to see this urgent work take flight. The preservation of an important indigenous way of life & this endangered heritage breed, the Navajo-Churro. I wanted to help uplift this project in some way. When @springcoyoteranch announced her fundraising sale of Navajo-Churro wool I saw a way to offer up my efforts in service to this vital cause. So before @woolandtheforest takes our first steps towards opening the effort that will support our small life, we give දාන. An auspicious flight. May all those touched by this offering be blessed. May their lives be uplifted & their efforts supported by the highest forces of the Universe
Thank you, namaskaram,
Daki
